About the Project
Lead Supervisor
Dr Wolfram Möbius, Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter
Additional Supervisors
Dr Ben Temperton, Department of Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter
Dr Stefano Pagliara, Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter
Prof Mike Allen, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and University of Exeter
Location: University of Exeter, Streatham Campus, Exeter EX4 4QJ
Main Information
This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP). The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus five Research Organisation partners: British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/
Project details
With approximately 10 viral particles for every marine microbe in surface water, viral infection of bacterial cells plays a significant role in driving population structure and, in turn, is a fundamental component of global carbon biogeochemistry. The vast majority of marine bacteria and their viruses are extremely small and dilute. The co-evolutionary consequences thereof are poorly understood. For example, it was thought until recently that the size of ultra-small bacteria such as the ubiquitous Pelagibacter spp. enabled avoidance of viral infection through ‘cryptic escape’. Yet, in 2013, this idea was proved false by the discovery of viruses infecting Pelagibacter, which dominate global oceans.
This project will investigate the coevolution of host and virus and how they are shaped by the biological and physical consequences of their sizes as well as by life in a marine environment.
Project Aims and Methods
The aim of this project is to investigate the co-evolutionary consequences of host / virus size and complex encounter patterns due to fluid flow in the ocean. To achieve this goal, the student will compare co-evolution of Pelagibacter and its virus with co-evolution of a range of host and virus pairs with varying size. Co-evolutionary adaptations will be investigated using single-cell genomic analysis and atomic force microscopy to visualise genotypic and phenotypic changes (focusing on cell-membrane adaptations), respectively, within the environmental single cell genomics facility at Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
In a second step, co-evolution experiments will be performed in a range of different fluidic environments. In particular, different scenarios of encounters of bacteria and virus in the ocean will be mimicked in the laboratory through the exquisite control of compartmentalised microfluidic environments. The theoretical considerations underlying this approach can be used to study the consequences of fluid flow on co-evolution theoretically if the student is interested.
While the focus of the work will be on experimental co-evolution, the project can contain a varying amount of technology development and theory work. Following a period of initial training, the student will thus be encouraged to develop the project design together with the supervisors.
Training
This project brings together fundamental biological questions with a physics-driven perspective through highly quantitative evolution experiments. The supervisors bring in complementary expertise from microbial ecology and evolution, single cell biology, microfluidics, microscopy, bioinformatics, and modelling. The student will thus obtain highly interdisciplinary training and be exposed to a range of techniques and approaches to science. Through the range of techniques, the student will learn to communicate across discipline boundaries, training that will be supported through visits to international conferences. The project will require creative approaches, allowing the student to develop their own project based on their own ideas.
Funding Notes
For eligible successful applicants, the studentships comprises:
An index-linked stipend for 3.5 years (currently £14,777 p.a. for 2018/19);
Payment of university tuition fees;
A research budget of £11,000 for an international conference, lab, field and research expenses;
A training budget of £4,000 for specialist training courses and expenses.
Up to 30 fully-funded studentships will be available across the partnership.
Eligibility
Students from EU countries who do not meet the residency requirements may still be eligible for a fees-only award but no stipend. Applicants who are classed as International for tuition fee purposes are not eligible for funding.
References
Zhao et al., Nature 494, 357-360 (2013)
see also: https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2013/02/16/flea-market
Koskella and Brockhurst, FEMS Microbiol Rev 38, 916-931 (2014)
Continue with Facebook
