A two year postdoctoral research position at DynaMo Center, a Center of Excellence within plant biology, is available from 1 November 2015 or soon thereafter.
The vacant postdoc position is for a project within synthetic biology entitled: “Optimized microbial production of the health-promoting glucoraphanin” financed by the Novo Nordic Foundation and led by Head of Center, Professor Barbara Ann Halkier.
The project addresses the fundamental challenge in synthetic biology related to engineering of compartmentalized pathways using the glucoraphanin pathway as case study. Glucoraphanin is the specialized metabolite associated with broccoli’s health-promoting effects. In planta, the glucoraphanin pathway is compartmentalized between the chloroplast and the cytosol. We have previously shown the feasibility of engineering the entire glucoraphanin pathway transiently in tobacco plants. The aim of the project is to develop a novel strategy of un-compartmentalization of a compartmentalized pathway and to establish an optimized microbial host for glucoraphanin production. The postdoc will investigate, in parallel, the ability of the cytosolic microenvironments of a prokaryote (E. coli) and a eukaryote (S. cerevisiae) to support functional expression of the entire glucoraphanin pathway. Transcriptomics and metabolomics data will be integrated and further exploited for genome-scale modelling of both microbial hosts. The project aims at providing optimized microbial production of glucoraphanin.
The postdoc’s duties will include research as well as teaching. The post may also include performance of other duties.
Application deadline: 28 September 2015