“What makes a good neighbour in the phyllosphere?” Understanding the ecological rules that govern bacterial colonization on leaves.
Leaves are colonized by a manifold of bacteria that impact on their host plant and its health. Given that plants are the most important terrestrial primary producers, it is surprising how little we know about their leaf colonizers. Bacterial communities on a given plant host species are very recurrent. How this community recurrence translates to spatial patterning of bacteria on leaves at the micrometre resolution, however, is not well understood. The latter is however important to truly appreciate bacteria-bacterial interactions.

Job description:
We seek a PhD candidate to investigate bacteria-bacteria interactions on leaves to understand how bacterial leaf communities are spatially structured. We make use of representative bacterial leaf colonizers that are expressing fluorescent proteins, e.g. cyan, green, yellow, and/or red fluorescent proteins. The applicant will investigate the distribution of individual bacterial strains and synthetic communities on leaves of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana using fluorescence microscopy. The outcomes of this research will be important to understand bacterial ecology at the micrometre resolution and how bacterial coexistence can be explained in natural environments. Furthermore, this research will lay the foundation for biological plant pathogens control.
Participation in research and teaching are expected. The position serves scientific qualification (PhD or Dr. rer. nat.).

Requirements:
Completed university degree (MSc. or equivalent) in Microbiology, Plant biology or related subjects.

Desirable:
Very good English language skills; Experienced in one or several techniques and subjects: Fluorescence microscopy, Image cytometry, Microbiology, Plant biology and/or Microbial ecology; Aptitude for bioinformatics and image analysis; Capability to independently solve scientific problems.

To apply, send your CV, addresses of 2 to 3 referees, transcripts and a motivation letter outlining your fit for this position to Clive S. Johnston (clive.stewart.johnston@fu-berlin.de).

For questions regarding the application process, please contact Clive S. Johnston.
For inquiries regarding the research, please contact Prof. Mitja Remus-Emsermann (m.remus-emsermann@fu-berlin.de)
For position-related inquiries please contact Prof. Mitja Remus-Emsermann (m.remus-emsermann@fu-berlin.de/ +49 30 838 58031)