Doctoral researcher

Subject: Antibiotic degradation and resistance in agricultural soils

Project start: 1st June 2020. Working time 65% (25.35 hours per week), limited to 3 years.

Your tasks:

Large amounts of antibiotics are applied in livestock production and reach agricultural fields by manure fertilization with largely unknown impacts on the soil resistome. Once added to the soil, antibiotics interact with soil particles, are subject to microbial transformation and influence the indigenous microbial community.The doctoral researcher will combine field studies, lab scale experiments and in silico analyses to study the fate and effects of antibiotics in agricultural soils. The tasks of the candidate will include 1) metagenome sequencing and genome reconstruction to study the impact of long term manure fertilization on the soil resistome, 2) design of microcosm experiments and application of molecular biology techniques (16S rDNA amplicon sequencing, qPCR) to analyse the effects of antibiotic mixtures on microbial communities and the phylogenetic distribution of antibiotic resistance genes and 3) stable isotope labeling and the use of single-cell approaches (nanoSIMS) to link microbial activity in the rhizosphere to antibiotic degradation.

Your profile:

The candidate should have a master’s degree in Biochemistry, Biology, Environmental Science or equivalent fields; ideally with a strong interest and profound knowledge in microbiology and molecular biology. Experience in bioinformatics and stable isotope techniques is beneficial.

The candidate should be proficient in English and motivated to work in an international and interdisciplinary team.

We offer:

• Top level interdisciplinary research at a research centre which enjoys an excellent reputation within Germany as well as internationally
• Excellent technical facilities
• Work in inter-disciplinary and multinational teams
• Excellent links to national and international research networks
• Support and optimal training courses by our graduate school (HIGRADE)

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