We are currently looking for a PhD student to join us on the FlyInnovation project – deadline for applications 11th of February 2024

 

This 3 year PhD studentship is part of the DFG grant FlyInnovation awarded to Prof. Lena Wilfert and Dr Pete Czuppon (University of Münster). This evolutionary genetics project studies the evolution of genomic cooperation and conflict between transposable elements (TEs) and their host genomes via experimental and theoretical approaches. Specifically, FlyInnovation aims to understand if the TEs that inhabit the ends of Drosophila chromosomes are an evolutionary innovation or merely selfish genetic elements by combining experiments, OMICS approaches and theory. 

The advertised PhD will work on the experimental aspects of the project, which also offers the opportunity to study the evolutionary trade-offs between ageing and fecundity and how it is resolved in multiple species. This will involve large scale laboratory experimentation with multiple Drosophila species, molecular analyses (qPCRs, preparing samples for sequencing), bioinformatics, quantitative genetics and potentially cytological analyses (oligopainting and Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization). The project will also entail analyzing molecular and phylogenetic data. In the theoretical part of the project, based at the University of Münster (Dr. Pete Czuppon and PhD candidate Daniel Omole, https://g-evol.uni-muenster.de/projectpage/#AnkerTransposons), ecological methods are applied to model the evolutionary dynamics of TEs. The advertised studentship will test these models experimentally, and link TE abundance and diversity to host fitness to understand if TEs and hosts are cooperating, or in conflict. 

We are looking for candidates with a keen interest in evolutionary ecology and a relevant undergraduate degree or, ideally, postgraduate degree. Experience in any of the mentioned experimental and molecular techniques or insect husbandry are desirable. Statistical skills and the desire to work in an international and interdisciplinary team are essential.

This project is part of a multi-team program across Germany focusing on genetic innovation in insects (http://www.g-evol.com). The goal of the DFG funded Priority Programme GEvol is to collaboratively and interdisciplinarily exploit new computational and OMICS methods to reveal the history of genomes in the insect taxon by comparative genomics. This priority project offers additional excellent opportunities for training, collaboration and networking with leading institutes in evolutionary biology. At the Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, an interactive and international team studies diverse topics in evolutionary ecology, including host-pathogen interactions (Prof. Wilfert), insect evolutionary genetics and metabolomics (Dr. Ruth Archer), conservation genomics (Prof. Sommer) and pollinator ecology (Profs. Ayasse and Tschapka), with the possibility to collaborate with Prof. Niessing (Institute of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology) on FISH analysis.

For more information, please contact Lena Wilfert (lena.wilfert(at)uni-ulm.de) or Ruth Archer (rutharcher0(at)gmail.com). To apply, please send a cover letter, a CV and relevant degree certificates to lena.wilfert(at)uni-ulm.de by the 11th of February 2024. The preferred start date is in spring, as early as the 1st of March.

Project FlyInnovation: conflict or cooperation between transposons and their Drosophila hosts?


The Diptera’s solution to the end-replication problem – selfish genetic elements as an insect innovation?

Eukaryotes face a challenge: protecting coding DNA from the shortening of chromosomal termini with each round of cell replication. Telomeres are a widespread solution to this challenge. These repetitive DNA motifs cap chromosome ends and buffer coding DNA from attrition. Telomeres themselves are maintained by the enzyme telomerase, which adds repeating DNA motifs onto chromosome ends. Telomeres and telomerase are vital to chromosome integrity and are highly evolutionarily conserved. This makes the Diptera unusual – flies have lost telomeric repeats and telomerase. Among the Diptera, Drosophila are unique: they are the only genus we know of where transposable elements (TEs) are the sole means of maintaining chromosome ends. These TEs act like telomerase, extending telomeric regions by successive transposition. This system has been heralded as a clear-cut example of TE domestication but evidence in support of this idea is lacking and the evolution of telomere-specific TEs is not well understood. FlyInnovation will determine if telomere-specific TEs are an innovative means of preserving telomeres in the absence of telomerase or simply selfish genetic elements avoiding host-silencing in a genomic safe-site. To achieve this, we will apply concepts from ecology to model the evolutionary dynamics of TEs under neutral scenarios, and empirically test for signatures of conflict or cooperation between host and TEs to understand any deviation from neutral modelling predictions. To elucidate the evolutionary origin of this potential genomic innovation, we will characterize the diversity of telomere-specific TEs across the Drosophila genus and, more generally, determine how other Diptera protect telomeric regions in the absence of telomerase. By integrating theoretical and empirical approaches across taxonomic levels, we will gain insight into TE domestication and the evolutionary drivers of innovative mechanisms of telomere maintenance.


To know more about the project go to : https://g-evol.uni-muenster.de/projectpage/#AnkerTransposons