Cereal seeds are staple food for most of the world. Cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a classical temperate cereal genetic model, with the seeds as its most valuable product. Successful seed development requires a balanced contribution of the maternal and the paternal genomes. This is controlled by uniparental gene expression in the process of genomic imprinting. We identified imprinted genes in barley and started their characterization. The Ph.D. student will join our research team and will collectively contribute to the characterization of already selected imprinted genes. The results will help lifting hybridization barriers in cereals and allow easier transfer of beneficial traits between incompatible parents. More on the topic can be found in the Internatonal Barley Hub seminar presented by A. Pečinka (https://youtu.be/EERytZyQi6s).
The project:
- Contribution to the functional analysis of selected and imprinted genes in cultivated barley.
- Selection of mutants (CRISPR and tilling) from already generated primary lines, and development of reporter lines and their analysis by genetic and molecular methods.
- The Ph.D. candidate will receive extensive training in barley methods already established in our group (cultivation, crossing, polyploidization, in vitro cultures, embryo rescue, molecular cloning, transformation, microscopy).
Motivation:
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Be part of a motivated team of the Centre of Plant Structural and Functional Genomics (CSFG) with friendly working environment.
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The candidate will receive Ph.D. student salary, social and health insurance, and performance-based benefits.
- The CSFG is located in the historical city of Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Selection process:
The candidates should hold or be close to receive M.Sc./Mgr. (or equivalent) degree. Please send your CV and motivation letter to A. Pecinka (pecinka@ueb.cas.cz). The selection will start as soon as sufficient number of applications is received. Expected start is fall 2023.
Supervisors:
Mgr. habil. Aleš Pečinka, Ph.D.