The diversity and dynamics of insect microbiomes

The new Symbiosis Evolution research group (http://www.symbioses.pl) at the Institute of Environmental Sciences of Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland is seeking a motivated Ph.D. Student to join the project "The insect microbiome dynamics in time and space", funded by the Polish National Science Centre (NCN) OPUS grant.

Insects frequently associate with microbes, forming different types of symbiotic associations that often play major roles in insect biology. We know that the microbiome abundance, composition and roles vary among insect species, but they also differ among populations, sampling dates, and among individuals sampled from a population at the same time. However, our understanding of the microbiome diversity patterns across insects, and the driving factors, remain limited.

The goal of the recently funded project is a broad, comprehensive survey of microbial symbioses across the diversity of Swedish insects. We will do this in close collaboration with Insect Biome Atlas (IBA), a project sampling flying insect communities at hundreds of sites. We will use large numbers of insects carefully selected from that collection for the microbiome characterization using high-throughput next-generation sequencing. This approach will allow us to understand the microbiome composition across the taxonomic diversity of insects, as well as to describe the seasonal changes, geographic variation, and the effects of environmental factors on microbiomes of selected, broadly distributed species.

The Ph.D. Student will primarily focus on the study of the diversity of microbes across thousands of insect species, addressing the question of how the microbiomes vary across the insect phylogeny. Initially, they will work with Swedish partners on preparing and curating large numbers of insect specimens for the microbiome characterization, while learning the relevant bioinformatic techniques. They will also participate in high-throughput next-generation sequencing library preparation. However, their main task is going to be the bioinformatic analysis of large amounts of insect microbiome composition data. Later, depending on interests, they may participate in phylogenomics and comparative genomics characterization of some of the broadly distributed microbial clades. The student will be encouraged to work closely with other team members and project collaborators, including Insect Biome Atlas consortium members in Sweden and Dr. Brandon Cooper at the University of Montana, U.S.A.

The successful candidate will have an M.Sc. degree in a relevant field by July 2019; a demonstrated interest in Evolution, Entomology, Microbiology, and/or Genomics; experience with, or a keen interest in learning, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology; and strong English language, communication, and organizational skills. Previous experience with insect ecology, evolution and especially symbioses, molecular biology, microbiome surveys, phylogenomics and/or comparative genomics, as well as willingness to travel are advantageous.

The candidates are asked to e-mail a cover letter explaining their background, skills, and interest in the project, a CV, and contact details of two academics who can provide a confidential reference, to Dr. Piotr Lukasik ([Email Address Removed]). The review of applications is ongoing; please apply by 11th June 2019 to ensure full consideration. The selected candidate or candidates will be assisted with the formal application to the Ph.D. program at Jagiellonian University.

For more information, please check the group website (http://www.symbioses.pl), the Institute website (http://www.eko.uj.edu.pl/en_GB), or e-mail Piotr Lukasik directly.