The Porter lab at Washington State University, Vancouver seeks a PhD
> student to join our research project investigating how crop
> domestication affects beneficial plant-microbe interactions. The
> student will have the opportunity to conduct research that integrates
> across our research in agricultural fields, the greenhouse, the wet
> lab, and via computational approaches. Prior experience in areas such
> as Evolutionary Ecology, Agronomy, Microbiology or Plant Science would
> be useful. The successful candidate will join a collaborative research
> team, so strong communication skills are a plus.
>
> Project Background
> Over thousands of years of domestication and crop improvement, humans
> have shaped wild plant species into the diverse crops we depend upon.
> While beneficial microbes that live on and inside of plants play key
> roles in plant health, little is known about how a plants’ ability to
> benefit from cooperative microbes changes during domestication. To
> investigate the evolution of plant benefits from wild plants to modern
> varieties, our project uses seed collections and genomic resources for
> legume crops ranging from soybeans to peas as model systems. The
> utility of legumes in agriculture lies in their unique symbiosis with
> rhizobial bacteria, which convert atmospheric nitrogen into useable
> forms, essentially fertilizing the plant. We compare crops’ ability to
> benefit from rhizobia to that of their wild relatives by integrating
> approaches from phylogenetics, molecular genetics, quantitative
> genetics, and genomics. Legumes account for a quarter of global crop
> production and a third of human dietary protein. Understanding how and
> why rhizobial symbiosis evolves during domestication will help
> identify ways to improve crop benefits from microbes to increase our
> ability to feed a growing human population.
>
> Lab Description
> The Porter lab (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flabs.wsu.edu%2Fstephanie-porter%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7C01a202a492284813827008d787a330e3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C1%7C637127007280100314&sdata=1HXg92dra5ViSu5d6pnpuMQtmUctAW6AE83%2FaiRNeKU%3D&reserved=0) investigates
> diverse projects on the Evolutionary Ecology of Plant-Microbe
> Interactions, ranging from how symbiotic plants and microbes adapt to
> environmental stresses to the ways in which plant-microbe cooperation
> shifts during biological invasions. We are housed in the School of
> Biological Sciences at Washington State University, Vancouver. Located
> on a beautiful 351-acre campus across the Columbia River from
> Portland, Oregon, WSU Vancouver offers an excellent quality of life.
>
> How to Apply
> If interested, please send an informal inquiry containing your CV with
> GPA and relevant coursework and a short statement explaining your
> interest in the position to stephanie.porter@wsu.edu. Please see
> instructions and information at
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcas.vancouver.wsu.edu%2Fscience-graduate-programs%2Fbiology-and-plant-biology-ms-and-phd&data=02%7C01%7Cmiranda.l.davis%40uconn.edu%7C01a202a492284813827008d787a330e3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C1%7C637127007280100314&sdata=1VQyLwxB6IXbbEI4XUi2soWOjC2Cc6Br%2F5iEM9UTpjY%3D&reserved=0.
> Formal applications received by WSUV before January 10th, 2020 will be
> given full consideration, applications can still be considered after
> this date.
>

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