About the Project
About the award
The University of Exeter’s College of Life and Environmental Sciences, in partnership with the BBSRC and Syngenta, are inviting applications for a fully-funded PhD studentship to commence in January 2017. For eligible students the studentship will cover UK/EU tuition fees plus a standard annual tax-free stipend of £14,296 for three years. As this is a BBSRC Industrial CASE studentship, the student will also benefit from an additional stipend enhancement of £2,500 per annum. The student would be based at the Penryn Campus, Cornwall, in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences.
Academic Supervisors:
Professor Chris Bass
Professor Richard ffrench-Constant (UoE)
Project Description:
Whiteflies are economically important insect pests of many important food crops. The two most prevalent are Glasshouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) and Silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). Both are highly polyphagous and share many host plants. They are therefore often controlled using the same insecticides, at the same field rate in the same crops. Preliminary work suggests that, 1) the susceptibility of the two species to different chemical classes is intrinsically different and, 2) strikingly, intraspecific and interspecific susceptibility differs depending on host plant.
This project will characterise variation in the susceptibility of resistant and susceptible strains of both species to insecticides to determine optimal application rates and strategies for the simultaneous control of both species. A range of state-of-the-art biological and molecular approaches will be used to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying differences in intrinsic insecticide susceptibility and those influenced by host plant.
The project will use the information generated in the above studies to explore the interaction of these two species on different host plants under different insecticide regimes using competition and simulated control studies.
The project provides an outstanding opportunity to undertake a PhD of relevance to sustainable food production. The student will gain excellent training in a range of molecular techniques that are widely applicable and will also benefit from learning more specialised techniques e.g. insect bioassay, transcriptome profiling. In addition the project will develop the student’s bioinformatics skills and will provide exposure to the crop protection industry through a Syngenta link/placement. The student will join a vibrant group of 6 PhD students, 4-5 post-doctoral scientists and technicians.
This award provides annual funding to cover UK/EU tuition fees and a tax-free stipend. For students who pay UK/EU tuition fees the award will cover the tuition fees in full, plus at least £14,296 per year tax-free stipend and a further stipend enhancement of £2,500 per annum. Students who pay international tuition fees are eligible to apply, but should note that the award will only provide payment for part of the international tuition fee and no stipend. Studentships will be awarded on the basis of merit and are awarded for three years of full-time study (part-time pro-rata), to commence in January 2017.
Entry requirements:
Applicants for this studentship must have obtained, or be about to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class UK Honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate area of science or technology.
If English is not your first language you will need to have achieved at least 6.5 in IELTS, and no less than 6.0 in any section, by the start of the project. Alternative tests may be acceptable, see http://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/english/.
The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 2nd October. Interviews will be held on the University of Exeter Penryn Campus the week commencing 10th October.
For full details on how to apply please see http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=2238.