Nuclear receptors from Mytilus edulis as a screen tool for determining invertebrate responses to contaminants

We are inviting applications for this PhD studentship to commence October 2012. For eligible students the award will cover UK/EU tuition fees and an annual stipend (in 2011/12 this was £13,590 for full-time students, pro rata for part-time students) for three years.

This studentship will be funded by the College of Life and Environmental Sciences and Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (CEFAS). Successful applicants will benefit from working within a lively research environment within Biosciences (Streatham Campus, Exeter) at the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter and will be expected to spend a proportion of their time working at the Cefas Weymouth laboratory.

Supervisors:
Professor Tamara Galloway (University of Exeter) [Email Address Removed]
Dr Tim Bean (CEFAS)
Dr Brett Lyons (CEFAS) [Email Address Removed]

Background:

Mytilid mussels are a characteristic feature of rocky intertidal and estuarine flats world-wide. Mussels have been widely studied due to their ecological role, economic importance and use in pollution biomonitoring, but until now, very little information has been available at the genome level. In this project, we propose to make use of unique, recently generated 454 and genome sequence information for Mytilus edulis. We will use this data to explore the role of nuclear receptors in transcriptional regulation. A unique property of nuclear receptors is their ability to directly interact with and control the expression of genomic DNA, leading to their importance in both embryonic development and adult homeostasis. Hormone receptors may also be activated by exogenous compounds, including environmental contaminants leading to undesirable contaminant effects.

Experimental plans:

The project will aim to mine 454 and genome sequence information for nuclear receptors sequences and classify receptor sequences in silico with bioinformatics. Nuclear receptor superfamily homologues will be selected and sequenced and selected sequences of interest cloned into cell line or yeast systems, to allow for screening of chemical libraries to identify receptor antagonists/agonists. Results will be compared with in vivo studies of selected agonists and responses verified using microarrays. The pathways of response will be mapped and related back to possible contaminant effects. The project will aim to deliver an enhanced understanding of a key process in biology, with the results directly informing the development of ecological risk assessments to better protect the marine environment

Justification:

You will receive excellent training in aquatic toxicology and genomics and will gain a highly employable portfolio of skills. You will be joining an enthusiastic and successful team and should ideally have some experience in molecular biology (although full training will be given), excellent communication skills and work well as part of a team. This exciting project will benefit from parallel studies of human nuclear receptors responses being conducted at Exeter and the unrivalled expertise in environmental protection and marine monitoring at CEFAS.