PhD position to investigate the diversity of banana responses to abiotic stress as a solution for...

Banana (Musa spp.) ranks among the top 15 cultivated crops. Of the worldwide banana production, 85% is for home consumption and this production usually is rain fed. Optimal banana production however requires continuous and abundant water, while many agro-eco zones have a dry season. With climate change it is predicted that dry seasons will shift, difficult to predict and tend to be more extreme. Improving banana performance for future climatic conditions is therefore a priority. This project will focus on the African Great Lakes region, which is one of the poorest areas in the world, encompassing Burundi, north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), western Kenya, Rwanda, north-western Tanzania, and Uganda. The region is also one of the most important banana-growing areas in the world, and is home to a unique group of banana varieties adapted to this distinctive environment. The candidate will be part of the team involved in the characterization and evaluation of the banana germplasm. The PhD studies will evaluate different genotypes with the overarching aim of modeling the impact of abiotic stresses on banana growth and development. The overall output are genotype specific growth models that predict the impact of temperature and water deficit on their growth and development in a certain region. Molecular tools will also be used to validate hypothesis, including omics approaches. The project will take place in Leuven (Belgium) with validation of the models in field trials in the Great Lakes Region. The project takes advantage of the longstanding partnership between Bioversity International and KULeuven, where several tools for high-throughput screening of the banana germplasm and modeling of the plant responses to abiotic stresses have been developed. The wide international network and access to fields in tropical environment also allows to validate and perform validation studies in the field (Eyland et al 2021 (Plant Physiology), Eyland et al 2021 (Crop Science), Geldhof et al 2021 (Plant Physiology), Eyland et al 2022 (Plant Cell & Environment), Manners et al 2021 (Agricultural systems)).

The following tasks are planned:

• High throughput phenotyping of on farm collected landraces and existing germplasm from the International collection
• Online transpiration monitoring
• Integration of omics techniques on guard cells and other relevant tissues
• Identification and characterization of genome-wide significant loci
• On field water usage and growth monitoring in function of the environment and the developmental stage of the plant.