PhD student – Reconstructing Evolution of the Plant Energy Sensing System

You will work in the Division of Molecular Biotechnology of Plants and Micro-organisms of the Biology department at KU Leuven and in Meise Botanic Garden under the supervision of prof. Filip Rolland and prof. Steven Janssens.

The lab for Plant Metabolic Signaling (Filip Rolland) is interested in how living organisms, particularly sessile and photo-autotrophic plants, maintain metabolic and energy homeostasis in a continuously changing and often stressful environment as well as during important developmental transitions associated with changes in energy demand and supply. The team uses a combination of molecular biology and biochemistry techniques, cellular assays, and mutant and transgenic plants to elucidate the function and regulation of the SnRK1 protein kinase complex (an important cellular ‘fuel gauge’) in Arabidopsis thaliana and crop species. Steven Janssens is an evolutionary botanist with a broad interest in the ecology, evolution and conservation of plants and is associated with both the KU Leuven Biology department and Meise Botanic Garden. His group addresses fundamental research questions on the origin and evolution of angiosperms (flowering plants) and explores genome dynamics in vascular plants. Research disciplines range from microbiome interactions, biogeography, diversification analyses, population genetics, phylogenetics, species distribution modelling, bioinformatics and tailor-made high throughput sequencing techniques.

This PhD project will combine the expertises and interests of both research groups. You will therefore obtain an interdisciplinary training with both computational and wet lab work, while collaborating with other PhD students on this and related projects and with our partners in the KU Leuven Plant Institute (LPI).

Website unit

Project

All living organisms need to closely monitor their carbon and energy budget to survive in a continuously changing environment. The SnRK1 (SNF1-Related Kinase1) proteins act as cellular ‘fuel gauges’ in plants. They belong to a eukaryotic superfamily of protein kinases, also including fungal SNF1 (Sucrose Non-Fermenting1) and animal AMPK (AMP-activated kinase). While these kinases have a highly conserved function and heterotrimeric configuration (with a catalytic alpha subunit and regulatory beta and gamma subunits), plant SnRK1 complexes significantly diverged, with plant-specific structural features, interaction partners and regulatory mechanisms, in line with their unique sessile and autotrophic lifestyle. In this project, we will trace the mechanisms and dynamics of SnRK1 evolution, combining genome sequencing and computational approaches with experimental wet lab work for functional analyses, focusing on (1) the origin of the green lineage and (2) the conquest of land, two major evolutionary events that significantly affected plants’energy metabolism and thus management strategies.

More specifically, you will be involved and acquire skills and expertise in:

• Sequencing of new (algal) draft genomes (DNA extraction, library preparation, Oxford Nanopore sequencing, assembly)
• High resolution phylogenetic analysis (generation of a gene tree hypothesis)
• Ancestral protein sequence reconstruction
• Protein sequence analysis and molecular modelling
• Molecular cloning
• Functional analyses using transient expression in leaf cells and stable Arabidopsis mutant complementation (molecular characterization and phenotyping)

Profile

• You have a master degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Bio-engineering, Biophysics, Bioinformatics or equivalent (graduation with distinction).
• You are highly motivated and committed to pursuing a PhD in the field of plant biology.
• You have a strong interest in (ideally some experience with) genome sequencing, bioinformatics, phylogenetic analysis, and molecular modeling.
• You are interested in combining computational analyses and wet lab work.
• You have a good knowledge of English, both orally and written. 
• Other important competences: you are proactive, communicative, accurate, able to work independently as well as in team, you have good organization and coordination skills, and are eager to learn.

Offer

• 4 years of funding (given a positive evaluation), good remuneration
• A dynamic, positive and supportive environment with opportunities for further development,  supervised interdisciplinary training, and collaboration with other research groups in the KU Leuven Plant Institute (with an active PhD student community), Meise Botanic Garden and abroad.
• The opportunity to be part of an international team and provide an important contribution to our fundamental understanding of plants, the dominant life form on our planet.
• Life in the beautiful medieval student city of Leuven in the heart of Europe.
• Start date to be determined (possible from October 2024).

Rolland lab
Janssens lab
Biology department
Meise Botanic Garden

Interested?

Interested applicants should send a detailed curriculum vitae, a letter of motivation and the contact information of 2 references via the online application tool. Only applications via the online application tool will be considered.

For additional questions, please contact filip.rolland@kuleuven.be, steven.janssens@plantentuinmeise.be, or cathy.hendrickx@kuleuven.be

KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.