PhD position in Plant Biology/Agricultural Sciences/Mycology

The joint project “FungAlkin” is a cooperation between the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB), the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) and the company Neudorff GmbH KG. It deals with the utilization of fungal compounds as herbicide alternatives.

Activities and responsibilities

·       development of application methods for herbicidal natural substances on various model plants;

·       transformation of fungi with fluorescence reporter constructs for visualization in plant tissues;

·       gene expression analyses on plants and fungi, as well as ITS sequencing of the soil microbiome;

·       investigation of plant physiological parameters;

·       presentation of results in form of reports, oral presentations and publications.

Qualification profile

·       a completed university degree in Biology, Plant Sciences or a comparable discipline;

·       experience in working with plants and fungi under in vitro and greenhouse conditions;

·       experience with molecular biology techniques (DNA/RNA-isolation from soil- and plant material, qRT-PCR);

·       experience in evaluating gene expression and ITS-sequencing data is an asset;

·       very good team, organizational and communication skills (English; German is an asset).

We offer

• a varied, challenging, and interesting interdisciplinary job in an international working environment.

• a part-time employment with 25,35 hours (65%) a week for 3 years (subject to allocation of funds) in a third party funded research project. The employment contract will be based on the collective agreement for the public service (TVöD-Ost).
• remuneration according to salary group E 13 TVöD.
• starting date: 1st July 2024

Documents needed: Motivation letter, your CV, copies of relevant degrees and contact details of at least two references.