The Santelia lab at ETH Zurich is seeking a highly motivated PhD student to join our research team on a project about stomata biology and starch metabolism in plants.
Stomata are microscopic pores on the leaf epidermis surrounded by a pair of guard cells. Stomata open and close in response to environmental stimuli to facilitate gas exchange between the plant and the atmosphere. Plants with fast stomatal movements adapt more quickly to changes in their environment and show increased stress tolerance and productivity. Research in the Santelia group demonstrated that guard cell starch metabolism is one of the key factors for fast stomatal movements. Our research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning fast stomatal movements through the regulation of guard cell starch turnover. We discovered that in Arabidopsis thaliana, the glucan hydrolase beta-amylase 1 (BAM1) is a major player in rapid guard cell starch degradation in response to blue light - a stimulus inducing fast stomatal opening; while its closest homolog BAM3, is involved in stomatal responses during pathogen attack. This position offers an exciting opportunity to explore the evolution and subfunctionalization of BAM1 and BAM3 in plants and how they contribute to plant productivity and stress resilience by regulating starch dynamics in guard cells.
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We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents no later than Nov 20, 2024:
Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.
Further information about our lab can be found on our website. Questions regarding the position should be directed to Dr. Diana Santelia, dsantelia@ethz.ch (no applications).
ETH Zürich is well known for its excellent education, ground-breaking fundamental research and for implementing its results directly into practice.
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