PhD candidate for Crop Domestication Effects on Plant and Soil Ecology F630

IRTA is currently seeking an enthusiastic and motivated PhD candidate to join the Sustainability in Biosystems Program. We invite applications from ambitious candidates with relevant research experience and passion to conduct research and innovation activities on plant and soil ecology in the ERC-funded project ‘WILD-ROOTS’. The primary objective of the WILD-ROOTS project is to reveal how crop domestication changed belowground traits and processes, and to then use this knowledge to increase the drought tolerance of agroecosystems. Our research combines approaches from soil ecology, plant ecophysiology, microbiology and metabolomics. The PhD student will oversee experiments (in greenhouse, field and lab) investigating the effect of the domestication process on belowground traits of plants and soils. The aim is to greatly expand what we traditionally think of as domestication traits, assessing a wide range of modern crops, traditional varieties and crop wild relatives. There will be a particular focus on root exudation, belowground volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and rhizosphere microbes. The candidate should be a keen plant and/or soil ecologist, interested in sustainable agriculture, and ideally with previous experience of experimental work with plants. They should have strong quantitative and data-handling skills to be able to be responsible for the management of the large amount of data generated. - Tasks and Responsibilities: - To collaborate with the design, set-up, and running of large-scale experiments (in greenhouse, field and lab). - Measurement and analysis of a wide variety of plant and soil parameters, relating to plant performance, root morphology and physiology (including root exudation), the soil and rhizosphere microbial community, and soil volatile organic compounds (VOCs). - Overseeing the construction of the WILD-ROOTS trait database and managing large amounts of data. - Perform advanced statistical analysis (including multivariate analysis) and interpret results. - Literature review and writing of scientific articles for publication in international peer-reviewed journals. - Seek opportunities to collaborate with other IRTA researchers, as well as other external academic and industrial partners active in the measurement of plant-soil interactions and sustainable agriculture.