PhD Studentship: Taking the Sting Out of Crop Disease: Novel Plant Defence Using Venom Antimicrobial Peptides

3 Year, full-time PhD studentship (Nigel Groome Studentship)

Eligibility: Home UK/EU and International applicants

Bursary p.a.: Bursary equivalent to UKRI national minimum stipend plus fees (current 2023/24 bursary rate is £18,622)

University fees and bench fees: University fees and bench fees will be met by the University for the 3 years of the funded Studentship. Visa and associated costs are not funded. International applicants can visit https://www.brookes.ac.uk/students/isat/  for further information.

Closing date: 26 January 2024

Interviews: Tbc

Start date: September 2024 

Project Title: Taking the sting out of crop disease: novel plant defence using venom antimicrobial peptides

Director of Studies: Dr Verena Kriechbaumer

Supervisors: Dr Steve Whisson, Dr Keith Miller 

Requirements: 

Entry requirements: Applicants should have a first or upper second-class honours degree from a Higher Education Institution in the UK or acceptable equivalent qualification. EU Applicants must have a valid IELTS Academic test certificate (or equivalent) with an overall minimum score of 6.5 to 7.0 and no score below 6.0 issued in the last 2 years by an approved test centre.

The studentship requires you to undertake the equivalent of up to 6 hrs of teaching per week on average, during semester time, and to include preparation and marking (but no more than 20 hrs per week), and to participate in a teaching skills course without further remuneration.

Project Description:

Phytophthora infestans causes late blight disease in tomato and potato with global costs for losses and disease control of £4-7bn p.a. Late blight can be controlled by use of resistant cultivars, but P. infestans has a history of overcoming the resistance and disease is controlled by frequent application of synthetic crop protection chemicals. There is therefore an urgent need for new ways to control Phytophthora diseases. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from scorpion and snake venom represent a promising new avenue. Despite AMPs being found throughout eukaryotic evolution, no microbial resistance against them has been identified.

Therefore, the main aim of this project is to engineer, produce and test novel AMPs in tobacco as a model plant and tomato for crop applications. We will engineer novel synthetic AMPs using a new and unique AI-supported AMP design platform and produce plants expressing highly targeted AMPs for optimal protection against Phytophthora pathogens.

This is an exciting, timely and interdisciplinary project addressing major issues with global impact on sustainable development goals: microbial antibiotic resistance, pesticide overuse and increased pathogen pressure due to climate change. Students will be trained in molecular biology techniques, confocal and electron microscopy, Phytophthora infection assays and AI-supported AMP design and testing.

The supervisory team is composed of Dr Verena Kriechbaumer (Oxford Brookes University: peptide targeting, confocal microscopy and plant transformation), Dr Steve Whisson (James Hutton Institute: Phytophthora biology) and Dr Keith Miller (Sheffield Hallam University: AMP design and testing in mammalian cells).

Contact: Dr Verena Kriechbaumer: [email protected]

How to apply: Applicants should visit the project webpage to download instructions on how to submit an online application, under 'How to apply' button on the Oxford Brookes vacancy page. You will be routed to this when you click on the above “Apply” button. Enquiries about the application process can be sent to: [email protected]

Advertised competitively alongside our current Nigel Groome PhD studentship advertisements for Biological and Medical Sciences. Part time MPhil/PhD study will be exceptionally considered (Home Fee status applicants only).