Postdoctoral position

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, Umeå Postdoctoral position Native legumes and their rhizobia in temperate regions SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) develops learning and expertise in areas concerning our planet's living natural resources. The Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences is the largest of the four faculties of SLU.Our area of activity covers a wide range of disciplines, spanning over agriculture, food and biotechnology to natural resources, environment and landscape planning. The 18 departments at the faculty are organised in four clusters.Most of the departments and the faculty office are located in Uppsala 65 km north of Stockholm, but important activities are also carried out in Umeå, Skara, and Grimsö.www.slu.se SLU announces a vacancy for post-doctoral position in Native legumes and their rhizobia in temperate regions, located at the Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, Umeå. Research environment:The department is multidisciplinary, covering Crop and Soil Science as well as Animal Husbandry.Major research areas in crop and soil science are plant-microbe interactions, nitrogen in plants and in soil, and production of high quality forage crops.Current work on nitrogen-fixing symbioses includes physiological and ecological studies of perennial and annual agricultural legumes as well as studies on nitrogen input from nitrogen fixation to agricultural land.Native legumes and their nitrogen fixation in temperate regions is a new and exciting addition to our programme.A two-year postdoctoral position is available at the department to conduct research on rhizobia from native legumes.Job description: The aim is to reveal to what extent native and cultivated legumes are sharing rhizobia and to what extent occurrence and symbiotic efficiency of rhizobia limit the distribution of native legumes.The successful candidate is expected to perform field collections, isolate rhizobia and characterise their genetic diversity as well as host-specificity and nitrogen fixation.Eligibility: Applicants should have a PhD degree or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate.Qualifications: The applicant should have a sincere interest in plant-microbe interactions, experience of working with plants and a strong background in microbiology and molecular biology.The applicant should have proven good written communication skills in scientific English.The position is full-time and will be granted for a period of two years, starting as soon as possible.SLU is an equal opportunity employer.We welcome your application, marked with the ref no.251-602/08, which should be submitted to the Registrar of SLU, P.O. Documents that should be included with the application: CV including a publication list, PhD diploma and copies of no more than five publications.Short description of previous research and other activities of relevance for the position.Names and addresses of at least two persons able to provide references for the candidate.The application should be written in English.