Contact
Johan Stenberg
Professor at the Department of Plant Protection Biology
johan.stenberg@slu.se
Telephone: 040-41 53 78, 070-6220042
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SLU news
Postdoc in eco-evolutionary plant pathology wanted
Published: 27 January 2020
We are looking for a highly motivated post doc that will work on biocontrol of strawberry diseases on resistant vs. susceptible plants. The candidate should have the ability to work independently, take own initiatives, and have a broad scientific interest including not only basic phytopathology, but also ecology and pest Management.
Wild plants show genetic variation in both direct and indirect resistance against their enemies. The indirect resistance consists of plant traits that promote beneficial organisms to establish and grow, providing “bodyguarding” services to the plant.
Understanding plants' eco-evolutionary interactions
Conflicts between the direct and indirect resistance may arise if direct resistance traits are harmful to the beneficial organisms. Such relations between the two defense lines are not well studied, and need more attention in order to understand plants’ eco-evolutionary interactions within communities as well as to optimize biocontrol strategies for domesticated crops.
Working with wild strawberry
The aim of this postdoc project is to test whether the biocontrol potential of the beneficial organism Aureobasidium pullulans is affected by plant direct resistance to Bothrytis cinerea (causing grey mould) and Colletotrichum acutatum (causing anthracnose disease) in wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca). Previous research in our consortium shows that our strawberry genotypes vary wildly in their direct resistance to B. cinerea and C. acutatum. The ultimate goal is understand how biocontrol and direct plant resistance can be simultaneously optimized to minimize crop damage.
Join an interdisciplinary research group
The postdoc will join an interdisciplinary group consisting of both molecular plant pathologists, ecologists, and IPM-researchers. The successful candidate will actively design experiments, analyze data, and write and publish scientific papers in collaboration with the research team.
The postdoc will also be expected to supervise students within the framework of the project.