Newly formed polyploids often show reduced seed viability, yet the developmental and genetic basis of this phenomenon remains poorly understood. This Ph.D. project will dissect how ploidy changes affect barley seed formation, with a strong focus on two ploidy-sensitive compartments—the
embryo and
endosperm—and on identifying
critical developmental checkpoints disrupted by ploidy transitions. The student will help to establish an experimental framework enabling comparative analyses of seed development across
diploid, triploid, and tetraploid backgrounds, including development of a
triploid inducer line and generation of
stable tetraploid barley lines. A central outcome will be a
cytological and developmental atlas of seed formation based on existing and newly generated marker lines.
Keywords: Plants, seeds, polyploidy, microscopy, image analysis, barley (
Hordeum vulgare)
Supervisor/Host
Dr. Anna Nowicka is a senior scientist in the
Plant Chromatin Organization and Function Group (headed by A. Pecinka) at the
Center of Plant Structural and Functional Genomics, Institute of Experimental Botany in Olomouc, Czechia, specializing in chromatin organization and cereal seed development. She integrates cytogenetics, flow cytometry, advanced microscopy, and transcriptomics, and brings international postdoctoral experience (Poland and Germany) together with non-academic expertise in data analysis and visualization, with a strong interest in soft skills and public speaking.
Pecinka group website: olomouc.ueb.cas.cz/en/research-groups/pecinka-group
Bluesky (
@pecinka-grp.bsky.social)
X (
@pecinka_grp)