PhD Research Project

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Silicon transport proteins: from biochemistry to bionanoscience

Institution:

University of Bristol

Dept/School/Faculty:

School of Biochemistry

PhD Supervisor:

Dr P Curnow

Application Deadline:

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Availability:

Self-Funded PhD Students Only

PhD Research Project

Click here to visit the University of Bristol website

Diatoms are single-celled algae that have been called ‘nature’s nanotechnologists’ because of their ability to coat themselves in an intricate outer cell wall made of glass. The fundamental component of this ‘glass house’ is silica, and in order to harvest silica from the environment diatoms have evolved a novel family of proteins that act as silica transporters. These are integral membrane proteins that specifically bind to a soluble form of silica and transport it across the cell membrane into the cell. Little is known about the structure and function of these unusual membrane proteins.

This project will build upon current work in the lab to study the structure and function of the diatom silicon transporters at the molecular level using biochemical and biophysical methods. Additionally, the student will investigate the exciting potential for using these transporters for novel applications in silicon-based nanoscience and synthetic biology. The Supervisor was recently awarded a prestigious ERC Starting Grant to support this work. This project is an excellent opportunity to develop a range of skills at the interface of several disciplines within the vibrant research environment of the School of Biochemistry at Bristol.

Webpage: http://seis.bris.ac.uk/~bixpc/

Please apply via the University of Bristol website: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/postgraduate/2012/apply.html. Applicants should apply for the Faculty: Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Programme: PhD in Biochemistry and specify Project and Supervisor names in the Research Details section of the application form.

References:

1. Hildebrand, M. (2008) Chem. Rev. 108 (11) p4855

2. Kroger, N., and Poulsen, N. (2008) Annu. Rev. Genet. 42 p83

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