Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research (SGN), headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, is seeking to fill the following position in the Department of Molecular Ecology at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F) as soon as possible:
PhD (m/f/d) Transcriptional Regulation of Odorant Perception
(65%)
Location: Frankfurt
Employment scope: Part-time: 65%
Type of contract: Temporary, limited to 3 years
Remuneration: Collective agreement of the state Hesse (TV-H) / E13
The Senckenberg Society for Nature Research is a member of the Leibniz Association and has been investigating the “Earth System” worldwide for more than 200 years, examining the past, analysing the present, and developing projections for the future. We conduct integrative geobiodiversity research with the aim of understanding nature in all its complexity and diversity in order to preserve it as the foundation of life for future generations and to ensure its sustainable use. Across eight institutes and five research stations throughout Germany, scientists from more than 40 countries conduct research at the highest international level. The city of Frankfurt, where the Senckenberg Society was originally founded, hosts the organization’s central administrative services along with two research institutes housing extensive scientific collections and one of Senckenberg’s most renowned institutions, the Senckenberg Natural History Museum Frankfurt. Senckenberg is as much a part of the city’s identity as its skyline and its traditional apple wine.
Understanding the evolution of complex communication systems requires investigating both signal production and signal perception. In insects, cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are central to chemical communication, yet the genomic mechanisms underlying the ability to perceive particular CHC compound blends remain largely unknown. Odorant receptor (OR) gene expression levels change when their corresponding encoded receptor proteins bind to specific odorants. The aim of this project is to determine the epigenetic mechanisms in regulating OR gene expression, and whether this regulation is consistent across our hymenopteran study species. This multi-omics approach will yield key insights into the genomic basis of the evolution of complex chemical communication systems, revealing how sender and receiver traits have evolved in concert.
The project is in close collaboration with the research groups of PD Dr. Florian Menzel (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz), PD Dr. Jan Büllesbach (Technical University of Munich), and Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmitt (University of Würzburg) and involves close cooperation with a second PhD student in the project who will lead the chemical ecology and comparative genomics analyses located in the groups of Prof. Dr. Oliver Niehuis and PD Dr. Volker Nehring (University of Freiburg).
We are recruiting a highly motivated PhD candidate with interest in molecular evolution, genomics, epigenetics, and chemical ecology to identify epigenetic mechanisms regulating odorant receptor expression, one of the key traits in chemical communication systems.
