Summary
This project involves an interdisciplinary team with the expertise required to study the importance of metal binding for a family of proteins targeted by the rice blast pathogen. You will learn a wide range of techniques needed to investigate the molecular basis of plant pathogen-host interactions.
Project and training
Global demand for food is rising and plant pathogens are one of a number of major threats to crop harvests. Many plant pathogens use effector proteins to interfere with cellular processes in the host, promoting colonisation and growth. Rice heavy-metal-associated plant proteins (HPPs), including the heavy-metal-associated isoprenylated plant proteins (HIPPs), are targeted by effector proteins from the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, presumably to promote infection. The HPPs/HIPPs form a diverse family of proteins in crops and other plants, but little is known about their function and role in disease. The HPPs/HIPPs are so-called as they have heavy-metal-associated (HMA) domains with homology to those found in proteins that bind metal ions. In this project, you will investigate HPPs/HIPPs with a particular focus on the importance of metal binding for both their function and role in disease.
The supervisory team will provide training in a range of areas including modern molecular biology as well as how to purify HPPs/HIPPs, starting with their HMA domains. Spectroscopic and biophysical techniques will be used to investigate metal binding. The structures of HPP/HIPP HMA domains plus metals will be determined by X-ray crystallography. You will learn how to crystallise proteins and collect diffraction data, including at the Diamond Light Source. Furthermore, you will gain experience in approaches used to study how metals influence the interaction of HPPs/HIPPs with pathogen effector proteins, including co-crystallisation of complexes. You will also acquire the skills needed to investigate the function of HPPs/HIPPs and their role in pathogenesis. This work will be assisted by protein bioinformatics, including AlphaFold2, which will help identify the best HMAs to study and assist the selection of regions of HPPs/HIPPs to clone and analyse.
As well as investigating the interaction between a devastating plant pathogen and the host it targets on a molecular level, this project will provide training in the areas described above. Furthermore, all supervisors regularly publish high-impact articles with PhD students as co-authors (see publications). You will learn how to produce publication-quality data by contributing to manuscripts describing your work, resulting in co-authorship of papers.
You will be based at Newcastle University in Prof Chris Dennison’s lab (https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/people/profile/christopherdennison.html) and the project involves collaboration with Prof Dan Rigden at the University of Liverpool (https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/systems-molecular-and-integrative-biology/staff/daniel-rigden/) and Prof Mark Banfield at the John Innes Centre (https://www.jic.ac.uk/people/mark-banfield/).
Informal enquiries can be made to [Email Address Removed].
HOW TO APPLY
Applications should be made by emailing [Email Address Removed] with:
· a CV (including contact details of at least two academic (or other relevant) referees);
· a covering letter – clearly stating your first choice project, and optionally 2nd ranked project, as well as including whatever additional information you feel is pertinent to your application; you may wish to indicate, for example, why you are particularly interested in the selected project(s) and at the selected University;
· copies of your relevant undergraduate degree transcripts and certificates;
· a copy of your IELTS or TOEFL English language certificate (where required);
· a copy of your passport (photo page).
A GUIDE TO THE FORMAT REQUIRED FOR THE APPLICATION DOCUMENTS IS AVAILABLE AT https://www.nld-dtp.org.uk/how-apply. Applications not meeting these criteria may be rejected.
In addition to the above items, please email a completed copy of the Additional Details Form (as a Word document) to [Email Address Removed]. A blank copy of this form can be found at: https://www.nld-dtp.org.uk/how-apply.
The deadline for all applications is 12noon on Monday 9th January 2023.
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