Understanding the biosynthesis and functioning of carboxysomes for bioengineering of active carbon fixation organelles

With the rapid growth of global population, demand for food is steadily increasing. However, advancement in crop yields by traditional breeding has reached its limits. There is an urgent need to develop innovative strategies, by taking advantage of modern biotechnology, to enhance agricultural production. The single-cell photosynthetic bacteria, cyanobacteria, account for over 25% of global carbon fixation, thanks for their powerful carbon-fixation system. The central CO2-fixing machines, named carboxysomes, are structurally defined by an outer protein-based shell that encapsulates the key CO2-fixing enzyme, called Rubisco, within the organelle. The shell is composed of many distinct proteins, and serves as a selective “barrier” for elevating CO2 concentration around Rubisco to power the CO2-fixing functionality of Rubisco. Due to their biological significance and self-assembly nature, advanced understanding of carboxysome formation offers great opportunities for construction of metabolic systems using synthetic biology. In particular, introducing carboxysomes into plants is considered as a promising strategy for boosting photosynthesis and crop yields. This project will use multidisciplinary approaches to address how Rubisco enzymes are produced and activated to be functional, how carboxysomes are built in cyanobacteria and how to generate fully active carboxysomes in other organisms, such as photosynthetic bacteria and green plants. The long-term goal is to provide novel solutions for underpinning plant engineering and food production, to meet the grand challenges in food and energy security. This project represents joint scientific efforts of the Liu Lab at the University of Liverpool and the Kapralov Lab at Newcastle University, by combining interdisciplinary skills and training ranging from molecular genetics, biochemistry, microbiology to biophysics, bioinformatics and synthetic biology. The student will be based in the lab of Dr Luning Liu (www.luningliu.org, Liverpool), with the opportunity to spend 6 months in the Kapralov Lab (Newcastle) and 3 months with Unilever. The University of Liverpool provides a unique combination of facilities and expertise for this project, including the Centre for Cell Imaging, Liverpool GeneMill, centres for Proteome Research, Computational Modelling and NMR Metabolomics. Training in all aspects of the project will be provided with access to state-of-the-art infrastructure in the Institute of Integrative Biology and with leading collaborators in the UK, Europe, Australia, US and China, which means that there will be good opportunities for developing a strong scientific network and the student’s career development.

For further information see the website: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/integrative-biology/

To apply:
Please complete the online application form and attach a full CV and covering letter - https://forms.ncl.ac.uk/view.php?id=553440. Informal enquiries may be made to [Email Address Removed]