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PhD Studentship in Agriculture Sciences

Employer
Global Academy Jobs
Location
France
Closing date
Aug 13, 2018

Job Details

ANR-Funded PhD position on Crop adaptation to water stress and climate change
 
Applications are open for a funded, full-time, 3 year PhD position in the context of a MOPGA (Make Our Planet Great Again) project (ANR-17-MPGA-0011) led by Vincent Vadez (Research Unit DIADE at IRD) and titled “Improve Crops in Arid Regions and future climates: Use plant hydraulics, root, and architecture to secure food in the Sahel”. The project will involve a close collaboration with the Research Unit AGAP (Crop improvement and crop adaptation) from CIRAD and with the Research Unit LEPSE (environment stress ecophysiology lab) from INRA. The PhD student will be enrolled in the doctoral school GAIA (https://gaia.umontpellier.fr/) of the University of Montpellier (Montpellier, France).

The successful candidate will be based at IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, 911 Av Agropolis, Montpellier, France), with the possibility to spend part of his/her time for experimentation at the ICRISAT campus in India (www.icrisat.org). He/She will be part of the CERES team (Cereal Root System) of the Research Unit DIADE (diversity, adaptation, development) of IRD of which Vincent Vadez is a member. The PhD student will be involved in the work package 1 (WP1) of the project, in the scope of a multi-institution/discipline partnership that has wide experience in the many aspects of crop adaptation to harsh environments. Hence, the PhD student will be groomed in a rich, active and stimulating research environment. This PhD program will also provide the basis for an exciting team effort with two other PhD students and a postdoc in charge of other work packages and who will be enrolled in this project within the next year.
 
 

1. Project background

The project tackles the need for plants to control water losses under conditions of high evaporative demand that prevail in semi-arid tropical climates. These conditions create an atmospheric moisture stress for the plant, which leads to decreased productivity or even crop failure. Climate change will only accentuate this constraint. Pearl millet and sorghum - the food subsistence basis of dry sub-Saharan Africa – are the target of this research. The project is a deliberately multi-disciplinary initiative that integrates physiology, molecular biology, genetics and modeling, in an attempt to connect fundamental knowledge and understanding of plant water fluxes to key water stress tolerance phenotypes. This knowledge can then be applied for an easier and better targeted breeding of improved cultivars to enhance farmers’ livelihood in the semi-arid tropics.
 
 

2. Details about the PhD topic area

Genotypes adapted to these harsh climatic conditions exist and are those capable of controlling water losses under high evaporative demand (vapor pressure deficit, VPD), which makes them match water consumption to water availability and allow them to fill their grains and reach maturity. The capacity to restrict transpiration under high VPD alleviates that stress, allows water saving, and increases water use efficiency. Since transpiration depends on the hydraulic capacity of the plant to channel water from the roots to the leaves, the overall hypothesis is that transpiration restriction is caused by a hydraulic limitation, possibly by an interplay of root and shoot architectural, anatomical and functional traits that allow the optimization of root water capture and light capture per unit of water loss. The main goal of this PhD thesis will be to elucidate the location (leaf, root) of this hydraulic limitation, and its mechanisms (architectural, anatomical, functional), as part of the Work Package 1 of the project.

The overall objective is to test the hypothesis that variation in transpiration rate in response to increasing VPD in previously identified genotypes of sorghum and pearl millet could be explained, at least in part, by differences in root hydraulic conductivity. Two underlying specific objectives are to explore what roles the root anatomy/architecture, or its functional characteristics, could play on the plant hydraulic conductivity and eventually on the plant transpiration response to increasing VPD.

 

Expected outputs are:

A better understanding of processes underlying water flow across plant tissues and their potential roles in explaining transpiration response to VPD

Conclusive data on a putative role of root anatomical trait to explain the hydraulic limitation

A linkage established between aquaporin facilitation of water transport in the root cylinder and transpiration restriction under high evaporative demand

Knowledge whether restriction of transpiration and leaf expansion under high VPD have a common hydraulic basis
 
 

3. Key responsibilities

The successful candidate will be expected to:

  • Organize and run the experiments, and analyze their results, related to WP1 between the IRD and CIRAD facilities in Montpellier, and possibly at ICRISAT India;
  • Coordinate with related efforts in the scope of other WP’s with other PhD students and postdoc
  • Help in developing a simple hydraulic platform and undertake analysis of root system anatomy and morphology
  • Take part of activities, seminars, workshops organized during the year by the plant science community in Montpellier
  • Candidates will be encouraged, during their PhD, to participate in international plant science conference to expose their work. They are expected to publish one or two articles in peer-reviewed journal from their research.
  • Complete a successful PhD thesis at the end of the three years;

 
4. Profile of candidates

Candidates must have:

  • A Master’s degree in biology, plant science, biotechnology or related disciplines, with an excellent record at Master’s level
  • Excellent oral and written English;
  • Good analytical skills
  • Work independence and capacity to innovate across distant research domains
  • Women and minority candidates are especially encouraged to apply. Knowledge of French is not a requirement, but the successful candidate will be encouraged to acquire at least a minimal competence in this language for local interactions and locally organized events.

 
5. Terms and Conditions

The PhD fellowship is set by the ANR (Agence Nationale pour la Recherche). It is a fixed-term, full-time contract. The gross monthly salary is 2516 €, leading to a net monthly income of about 1300 €. The contract will provide all benefits to the student (Social Security). All expenses for travel, including visas, and accommodation while on travel will be supported by the project. The successful candidate will also have access to funding to participate in conferences in the 2nd and 3rd year of the PhD. The successful candidate will have a working space at IRD, in a shared office with other members of the group.

Starting date: 15 September 2018

 

6. Applications

Shortlisted candidates will be notified within 14 days after the deadline and asked to have a Skype interview, at a time to be mutually agreed.

Candidates will be notified of the result of the selection process 1 week at the latest after the interviews.

 

7. Information

For academic questions about the project and the position, please contact Vincent Vadez (Vincent.vadez@ird.fr; v.vadez@cgiar.org).

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