项目介绍

2024年11月27日

Function

Do you want to be part of the development of resilient crops that require fewer environmentally-damaging inputs? Then you could be the ideal candidate to join our new, interdisciplinary research institute CropXR!

With a budget of 96 million Euro over the next decade, CropXR focuses on creating eXtra Resilient (XR), sustainable, and climate-adaptive crops. By combining plant biology, simulation modelling, and artificial intelligence we aim to develop ‘smart breeding and cultivation’ methods to speed up breeding for complex resilience traits in different growing systems for several crops. This collaborative effort involves four universities (Wageningen University, Utrecht University, Universities of Amsterdam, and TU Delft), numerous companies, and encompasses scientific research, data collection and sharing, education, and practical applications in agriculture and plant breeding.

This vacancy is for a PhD position focusing on mechanisms underlying onion drought tolerance, specifically the response and effects of early season drought on plant growth and yield. Onion is sensitive to drought at several stages in the crop cycle. Early in crop establishment, onion seedlings are particularly sensitive to drought. Early root vigor, optimal root to shoot ratio and balance between water uptake, transpiration and photosynthetic efficiency are among the traits that are likely to contribute to drought tolerance at this stage of the onion crop. Water limitation at the next stage is likely to affect leaf growth and photosynthetic capacity and activity, and either directly or indirectly may impact the initiation of the bulb. Whether and how bulb initiation is impacted by drought and how this influences quality and size of the bulb is essential information for a better understanding of drought tolerance of onion, and for identifying breeding targets to improve onion drought tolerance. Key traits and genes contributing to tolerance to drought at the seedling and pre-bulbing stage and linked phenotyping strategies for these traits can be translated to and validated in the field and serve as selectable traits in breeding programs.

This PhD project interacts with another CropXR onion PhD student who will be focusing on the response to drought at later developmental stages. Each PhD student will provide input for mechanistic and possibly functional structural plant models.
If you are motivated to work in an interdisciplinary research setting, on a challenging project, collaborate with diverse (company and academic) partners, and communicate findings to both peers and the public, we are looking for you.

As a PhD candidate, you will:

• execute trials in (semi) controlled environments using state-of-the-art (high throughput) phenotyping tools
• evaluate the drought response of onion at the molecular, biochemical and physiological level
• analyse and interpret the data relevant to the goal of the PhD position, contributing to the development of a resilient onion crop;
• work closely together with another PhD studying drought tolerance of onion at later developmental stages.
• communicate with experimental research scientists and data and modelling scientists within and beyond CropXR;
• contribute to the education of BSc and MSc students from different knowledge institutions working with you on the project.

Function Requirements

We are looking for four highly motivated and creative candidates to join us in CropXR.

You are:

• a pleasant team player with a pro-active work attitude
• conceptually strong and skilled in practical experimental work with affinity for agronomy and interests in plant stress response and physiology

You have: 

• an MSc degree in plant sciences, crop science or a related field
• experience in plant physiological and molecular analysis
• excellent English language proficiency (CEFR C2 level or more). For more information about this proficiency level, please visit our special language page
• strong collaborative skills

Experience with plant phenotyping and abiotic stress research is an advantage. However, if you feel attracted to the position but are unsure whether you already meet all the criteria, we do encourage you to apply.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

Contactinformation

For more information about this position, please contact Gerard van der Linden, Researcher Wageningen UR Plant Breeding, telephone +31 317 480850, or by email: gerard.vanderlinden@wur.nl, or Olga Scholten, Senior Researcher Wageningen UR Plant Breeding, telephone +31 317 480871, or by email: olga.scholten@wur.nl.

For more information about the procedure, please contact Dax Teunissen, corporate recruiter vacaturemeldingen.psg@wur.nl