Post Doctoral Opportunities in the Regulation of Tomato Fruit Shape
November, 2009
Several post doctoral positions are available in the area of tomato fruit biology and development. These positions are part of an interdisciplinary research teams from other US institutions and RIKEN-Yokohama, Japan. The objectives of one of the projects are to study the role of plant hormones and metabolites in the regulation of fruit shape controlled by the tomato gene SUN (Xiao et al., Science 319: 1527-1530; Xiao et al., BMC Plant Biology 9:49). SUN overexpression analysis and phenotypic evaluations suggest a role of the plant hormone auxin in regulating fruit and leaf shape, as well as vascular and leaf margin development. The post doc will be involved in a developmental analysis of genes identified from the hormone and metabolite studies by conducting expression analysis using in situ hybridizations, Northern blot analysis, quantitative PCR, and transient and stable transgenic plant analysis; the genetic analysis of auxin mutants and fruit shape; physiological experiments determining the sensitivity of overexpressors and near isogenic lines to the hormone auxin. This project is part of a larger USDA-funded project that aims to investigate the role of auxin in fruit set in Arabidopsis and tomato.
The other project focuses on the role of the tomato fruit shape gene OVATE on fruit patterning and development. OVATE is likely to function as a transcriptional repressor and, therefore, the research will focus on identifying differentially expressed genes from specific tissues in the fruit as well as a hormone and metabolite profile analysis. The post doc will be involved in an analysis to determine when fruit shape changes are manifested in the developing ovary using light microscopy (see Xiao et al., BMC Plant Biology 9:49); laser caption microdissection of specific fruit tissues to isolate RNA, hormones and metabolites; transcript profiling using state-of-the-art mRNA tag profiling procedure on the Genome Analyzer II (Illumina); integration of transcript, metabolite and hormone data by modeling; in situ hybridizations and transient and stable transgenic plant analysis. This project is part of a newly funded NSF-funded project that aims to discover the genes and networks regulating tomato fruit morphology.
Both positions will be offered for one year with the possibility of extension of up to 4 years. For more information about either one or both of these projects including unpublished data, contact Esther van der Knaap at: vanderknaap.1@osu.edu or esthervanderknaap0@gmail.com in addition to the laboratory’s website at http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/vanderknaap/
The successful candidate will have a strong background in molecular biology and plant physiology. Experience in developmental biology and biochemistry is desired. Candidates with an excellent record of scholastic achievements and productivity are particularly encouraged to apply.
Application instructions:
Send via email 1) cv, 2) the names and email addresses of three potential references, and 3) a short statement addressing research interest, expectations from the position, future goals and reason for applying to the position. Send application to vanderknaap.1@osu.edu or esthervanderknaap0@gmail.com and “post doctoral position” in the subject heading.