Postgraduate Research Opportunities in Biology, PhDs
Below we present a list of possible projects to give you an indication of our research areas. The symbol with the project explains the funding situation. For fee banding: see the University fee structure pages. Postgraduate Research Supervisors and their research areas can be found by clicking on the staff list or through the research areas page.
Self-funded students only
Directly funded project, worldwide
Competition funded project, worldwide
Exploring the potential of CAM plants as second-generation biofuel crops
Supervisor: Dr Anne M Borland
Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is a photosynthetic adaptation found in approximately 7% of plant species that improves the assimilation of carbon in water-limited habitats. The ability of CAM plants to produce high quantities of starch and sugars in above-ground biomass in arid marginal lands suggests their potential use as second-generation biofuel crops for the production of bioethanol. A number of projects are available to examine the environmental and genetic factors that influence carbohydrate storage and turnover in relation to carbon assimilation and biomass production in CAM species. Depending on the student’s interests, approaches to be adopted could include: physiological analyses of photosynthesis, water use efficiency and biomass production; biochemical analyses of carbohydrate metabolism, HPLC profiling of sugars and osmoprotectants; a genetic approach using transgenic technology to modify the expression of candidate genes controlling starch and sugar content.
Key words: Plant, photosynthesis, biofuels, CAM, starch, sugars, drought, arid habitats
Feeband: 2c
Establishing the functional role of vacuolar sugar transporters in plants under stress
Supervisor: Dr Anne M Borland
In many crop plants, the leaf vacuole is an important source of sugars that are used for growth and the production of secondary compounds (eg. osmoprotectants) under conditions of drought and/or salinity. It is hypothesised that sugar transporters located on the vacuolar membrane play a key role in regulating carbohydrate partitioning between growth and the production of osmoprotectants, thereby influencing plant resistance to stress. This hypothesis will be tested by examining responses to abiotic stressors in a number of recently identified mutants with impaired expression of different vacuolar sugar transporters. Approaches to be employed will include physiological measurements of leaf gas exchange and growth characteristics as well as real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) for monitoring gene expression and high-performance liquid chromatography for analyses of sugars.
Key words: Plants, abiotic stress, salinity, drought, vacuole, sugars, photosynthesis
Feeband: 2c
What is the interaction of invasive plant species and native pollinators, and potential impact on native flora?
Supervisor: Dr Roy Sanderson
The aim of this project is to investigate the pollination ecology of several widespread invasive species such as Rhododendron ponticum and Impatiens glandulifera. These are frequently visited by native pollinators, particularly species of bumblebees. How dependent on pollination are these species for their seed set and spread? What is the impact on the seed set of native species of plants nearby the invasives – are they suffering from a loss of pollination? Does the landscape pattern of the invasive species have an impact on pollinator behaviour. The student may wish to undertake a mixture of experimental, field and modelling work to investigate this broad topic area.
Key words:
Pollination, invasive species, interactions, bumblebees, modelling
Feeband: 2a
Predicting the impact of organic farming on invertebrate community dynamics
Supervisors: Dr Roy Sanderson and Prof Carlo Leifert
This project aims to investigate the impact of implementing organic farming methods on invertebrate ecology. This is in terms of both invertebrates living on or amongst the crops, field margins, and the wider landscape. The usage of organic farming or low intensity management techniques is becoming increasingly widespread, and might be expected to have its first impacts on the invertebrate fauna. This project will attempt to quantify those changes, and predict the likely effects of more widespread uptake of organic over conventional management. It will model changes using data from the University's organic farm at Nafferton.
Key words:
Invertebrate ecology, organic farming, modelling, community ecology
Feeband: 2a
Spatio-temporal dynamics of disease in heterogeneous systems
Supervisor: Prof Steven Rushton
The aim is to analyse the spatio-temporal dynamics of disease in heterogeneous systems. The student will use a range of statistical and process-based modelling approaches to investigate the dynamics of livestock, wildlife or human disease. Current diseases of interest with in the research group are concerned with bovine TB, atypical mycobacterial infections, hospital acquired infections (MRSA) and Campylobacter in broilers and the student may wish to develop a research project in one or more of these topics.
Key words:
epidemiology, modelling, spatial, statistical, wildlife, invasive
Feeband: 2a
Spatial dynamics of mammals and invasive species
Supervisor: Prof Steven Rushton
Predicting when species will become invasive and why they do so is difficult. This project is concerned with analysing this problem using a range of modelling approaches.
Key words:
epidemiology, modelling, spatial, statistical, wildlife, invasive
Feeband: 2a
Using molecular tools to investigate the structure of the UK feral goat population
Supervisor: Dr Peter Garson
Feral goats occur mainly in traditional and discrete areas which have diminished substantially over the past 50 yerars and more. Apart from their value as a heritage breed developed in the UK, their current situation mirrors that of a wild ungulate population under threat of extinction. For instance they are hunted, excluded from shelter and foraging grounds, and may be in competition with other wild and domestic species for space. Molecular techniques will be used to (a) reconstruct the phylogeny of present populations across the UK, (b) assess the degree of isolation of the sub-populations in the England-Scotland border area. Both these analyses will inform a genetic conservation plan based on translocations amongst populations.
Keywords: feral goats, conservation, behaviour, population genetics
Feeband: 2c
The maintenance of gynodioecy in the genus Plantago: evolutionary and population genetics aspects
Supervisor: Dr Kirsten Wolff
Gynodioecy is a fairly common sex phenotype polymorphism with hermaphrodites and male sterile (female) plants occurring in populations. Mitochondrial mutants together with nuclear restorer genes interact to maintain this polymorphism. Many Plantago species have a wide range of mating systems, from outbreeding to selfing and many of the species are stably gynodioecious.
We know very little about mitochondrial haplotype diversity and even less about the nuclear restorer genes in Plantago.
A number of evolutionary forces are important for generation and maintenance of the polymorphism, from mutations to density and frequency dependent selection. To understand more about the maintenance of sex phenotype polymorphism a wide range of studies are needed, from crossing designs and fitness studies, field studies, molecular evolution to gene expression experiments.
Keywords: Gynodioecy, mitochondrial DNA variability, Plantago, mating systems, population genetics
Feeband: 2c
Ecological genetics in Plantago: detecting and mapping genes under selection.
Supervisor: Dr Kirsten Wolff
Plantago species are grassland species, with populations showing clear ecotypic differentiation. This has been shown in P. major, a highly selfing species, as well as in P. lanceolata, an obligate outcrosser. It is not known how many genes are involved in the adaptation to habitats. It can be hypothesized that in P. lanceolata those genes are evenly spread over the genome, whereas in P. major genes are likely in a small number of linkage groups, forming co-adapted gene complexes. This is so because gene complexes in the outcrosser P. lanceolata will be broken up every generation, whereas gene complexes are able to form in the selfing P. major.
QTL mapping will highlight the number and location of QTLs and whether gene complexes can play a role in reproductive isolation of P. major ecotypes.
Also, selection can be detected by looking for effects of selective sweeps on diversity of microsatellites and in nuclear intron sequences in populations from contrasting habitats.
Keywords: Molecular markers, Plantago, QTL mapping, selective sweeps, ecotypic differentiation
Feeband: 2c
Use of antisense mRNA expression in the discovery of natural products.
Supervisor: Dr Jem Stach
This research project will investigate the use of antisense-based gene silencing in antibiotic-producing actinomycetes. The aim is to use a random shotgun cloning approach to simultaneously identify antibiotic regulatory and biosynthetic genes. The project will involve developing a paired-termini expressed antisense methodology in model Streptomyces species to control the production of antibiotic production, prior to application with novel actinomycete species. Strains expressing antisense RNA will be screened for the production of antibiotics by whole cell killing assays, high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The antisense expressing strains will be compared against the wild-type species to evaluate the affect of antisense expression on antibiotic production.
Feeband: 3
Use of antisense in the development of strains sensitized for the identification of novel antimicrobial compounds.
Supervisor: Dr Jem Stach
This research project will investigate the use of antisense expressing bacteria for the identification of novel antibiotics. The aim of the project is to construct E. coli strains that express antisense RNA complementary to essential genes. The resulting strains will be hyper-sensitized to inhibition of the cognate protein, enabling highly sensitive detection of antimicrobial compounds. The project will involve constructing a number of antisense expressing strains and screening against a large library of antibiotic producing actinomycetes. The project will also involve preliminary identification of any novel antibiotics identified using this methodology.
Feeband: 3
Microbial communities of the coral surface mucus layer
Supervisor: Prof John Bythell
The coral surface mucus layer (SML) plays a number of critical roles in the biology of reef corals including ciliary-mucus transport and protection from desiccation, pollutants and microbial invasion. This project will explore the spatial structure and dynamics of microbial communities of the SML using techniques we have recently developed for preserving and embedding the SML in its natural state and molecular methods of microbial detection and analysis. The dynamics of the SML community will be evaluated during bleaching and disease.
Feeband: 2c
Molecular analysis of coral-associated microbial communities during bleaching
Supervisor: Prof John Bythell
Molecular techniques involving 16S rRNA gene analysis (PCR-DGGE, clone library construction and sequence analysis) will be used to follow microbial community profiles during bleaching and environmental stress. Work will involve analysis of a library of coral environmental samples from recent experiments and field surveys and may involve field experiments where sufficient funds are available. Where clear changes in the microbial community are detected, histopathological analysis will be used to assess the causes of mortality.
Feeband: 2c
Understanding food choices between organic and conventional foods
Supervisor: Dr Mark Whittingham
Work by a NERC funded PhD project due to finish shortly has found preferences by birds for food grown under organic vs conventional treatments. This project will help further elucidate why animals differentiate between organic and conventionally grown food and will extend this work to other taxa. You will gain practical experience, e.g. identification skills, with birds in the wild and in the laboratory, learn about experimental design and statistical analyses and learn how to present your work.
Feeband: 2a
Ecology of starlings and tipulids
Supervisor: Dr Mark Whittingham
A long term study population of starlings in Fair Isle has established a large colour-ringed population. Recent work by my group has established basic ecological relationships between habitat, food and breeding starlings. This project will extend this work and examine population changes linked to Tipulids on Fair Isle and elsewhere. Starlings are representative of a guild of ground-probing bird species and so the results of the project will be of interest to a range of bird species and can inform conservation management.
You will gain practical experience, e.g. identification skills, with birds in the wild, learn about experimental design and statistical analyses and learn how to present your work.
Feeband: 2a