Postdoc position Abiotic Stress Signalling (1.0 FTE)

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to work on an NWO funded project investigating molecular mechanisms regulating abiotic stress recovery in Arabidopsis thaliana. The selected candidate will work under supervision of Dr. Sasidharan. Your responsibilities will include development and execution of experiments based on leads from a previous project, data analysis, manuscript preparation and collaborating with other team members. You are also expected to develop ideas and write applications for relevant postdoctoral fellowship awards.

Programme summary

When faced with environmental perturbations, plant survival is determined by both acclimation during the stress and recovery following stress withdrawal. However, mechanisms regulating the latter remain relatively unexplored. In this NWO funded project, the focus is on investigating the molecular regulation of plant recovery following a flooding event. As global warming fuels intense and frequent precipitation events leading to flooding, there is an urgent need to understand and explore flooding survival mechanisms in plants. Previous research from our team has demonstrated that overcoming post-submergence stress is an important aspect of flooding tolerance. Plants acclimated to the low oxygen and low light conditions underwater must rapidly re-adjust to terrestrial conditions upon floodwater retreat. Our research has shown that in Arabidopsis, this involves a massive reprogramming of ribosome-associated transcripts. The post-submergence period triggers a network of signalling pathways to cope with oxidative stress, senescence and dehydration via stomatal control. The successful candidate will follow-up previous leads in this aspect, and work closely with a PhD candidate, to characterise molecular processes underlying recovery with a focus on hormonal control. This project will provide the opportunity to combine genomics, genetics and whole plant physiology in an experimental set-up in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana optimised to study flooding recovery.