PhD Phytophthora capsici resistance in pepper

 

Always wanted to obtain new insights towards resistance to Phytophthora in one of the most important vegetable crops pepper? With the aim to enable breeders to select varieties with increased resistance levels allowing a more sustainable pepper production: A pepper production with less fungicides and resilient for climate change including heavy rainfalls and periods of high temperature & humidity all favouring Phytophthora infection? Then now there is a challenging project joining forces of  Wageningen University experts and three international breeding companies. Please read on, and apply! 

We are looking for an enthusiastic, communicative and highly motivated PhD student to work on increased resistance to Phytophthora capsici. Phytophthora capsici is a highly destructive oomycete pathogen that infects many agriculturally important vegetables, including pepper. High relative humidity and extreme weather events (e.g. heavy rain fall and flooding) can initiate wide spread infections. Since commercial pepper cultivars are very susceptible or just partially resistant to P. capsici, the disease is controlled by application of chemicals. However, oomycetes are generally not sensitive to most broad-spectrum fungicides and most fungicides are likely prohibited in the future.  

You will aim to identify and characterize genetic resistance against P. capsici in wild Capsicum accessions and resistant landraces by exploiting an effectoromics breeding strategy in combination with bioinformatics and Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS). Effectoromics is a modern strategy towards identifying resistance genes or other types of immune receptors, that has proven successful for resistance breeding to potato late blight (Phytophthora infestans). By expressing proteins that are secreted by the pathogen (effectors), a hypersensitive response (HR) can be detected in resistant Capsicum plants. GWAS is a novel method which is increasingly popular in plant studies to identify genotype-phenotype associations in a broad collection of genotypes. You will use GWAS to unravel the genetic loci regulating both the response of Capsicum sources in an effector screen (HR/no HR) as well as in a disease assay (resistant/susceptible). 

Phytophthora capsici causes a major problem for the pepper industry, with annually $ 0.1 billion losses that occur at the whole chain, from breeding to pepper production in open-field, plastic tunnels or greenhouses, until transport and storage, and global incidence of the disease is increasing. The identification of resistant pepper accessions, effectors from P. capsici and molecular markers will enable the participating companies to breed for resistant pepper cultivars, enabling selection for cultivars which can maintain quality in a more sustainable production, transport and wholesale chain, with minimal use of fungicides and decreased losses. Although the research will focus on pepper, with the obtained knowledge and identified genes it might also be possible to tackle the P. capsici problems in other crops such as tomato, eggplant and cucumber.

We ask

• You have a successfully completed MSc degree in Plant sciences, Plant biology, Plant biotechnology, or alike, (or you can obtain such a degree before the starting date of your Ph.D. project) 
• You have a strong interest in experimental plant research, genetics, disease resistance, plant phenotyping and plant breeding 
• You have hands-on experience in molecular and quantitative genetics 
• You work in an accurate and efficient way, and you are highly motivated to do science 
• You are a team player who can also work independently  
• You have excellent communication skills, both oral and written. 
• You have a very good level of oral and written English. You are required to show us a certification of English skills. For more information about the required level please take a look at: https://www.wur.nl/en/Education-Programmes/PhD-Programme/English-language-requirements.htm; 
• you meet all the entry requirements of the� WUR PhD programme. 

We offer

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment.�A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include: 

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave; 
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance; 
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week; 
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee; 
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%; 
• excellent pension scheme. 

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team. 
The gross salary for the first year is € 2.443,- per month rising to € 3.122,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well. (A contract for 0.8 FTE can be discussed.) 

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere. 

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “ Best University ” in the Netherlands for the 17th consecutive time. 

Coming from abroad 
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief, known as the 30% ruling. Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page�contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues. 

More information

Do you want more information? 
For more information about this position, please contact Suzan Gabriëls, Scientist Plant Breeding, by e-mail suzan.gabriels@wur.nl 

For more information about the procedure, please contact  psg.vacaturemeldingen@wur.nl 

Do you want to apply? 
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.  

This vacancy will be listed up to and including 14 March 2022. We hope to schedule the first job interviews the following weeks. 

Equal opportunities  
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. For more information please go to our inclusivity page. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment. 

We are

Wageningen University & Research 
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. 
 
With its roughly 30 branches, 6.800 employees and 12.900 students, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen’s unique approach. WUR has been named Best Employer in the Education category for 2019-2020. 
 
Read the 5 reasons why your future collaegues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus! 

Plant Breeding and The Graduate School Experimental Plant Sciences
The PhD position will be at Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research. Plant Breeding is a merged unit of Wageningen Research and Wageningen University with around 200 people including MSc and PhD students and guest workers. It is a highly international group with more than 50 nationalities organised in ten research groups. We conduct fundamental, strategic and applied research and provide teaching at all educational (BSc, MSc and PhD) levels. Our research focusses on unravelling the genetic basis of traits which are relevant to achieve a sustainable agri- and horticulture. We conduct this research often together or in partnership with breeding companies, local, regional and state governments.

The position will be part of the Dutch inter-university Graduate School Experimental Plant Sciences (EPS). The mission of EPS is to organize the training of PhD students and postdocs to become self-reliant researchers.

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated. 

Apply now