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PhD Opportunity: BBSRC – Industrial Cooperative Awards in Science & Technology (ICASE) Application Deadline: 27th April 2018 Area of Research: New methodologies to enhance phenotypic variation in crops Compared to animals, somatic cells of plants can be much more easily reprogrammed to regenerate whole new organs and, sometimes, entire individuals. This unique biological property has enabled plants to reproduce either sexually or asexually according to their habitat. The ability of plant cells to readily acquire a totipotent state has been attributed to their flexible epigenetic states. As a result, plant totipotency has been traditionally exploited by humans for the clonal propagation and genetic manipulation of economically important species. However, clonal plants are not always phenotypically identical to their parents, a phenomenon not well understood. Our recent data indicates that this form of phenotypic variation is linked to the accumulation of epigenetic modifications as a consequence of incomplete resetting of somatic imprints. The aim of this project is to use this knowledge and develop technologies to enhance phenotypic diversity in crop elite lines by the targeted manipulation of the genome. The student will assess novel routes to enhance phenotypic diversity in model plants and elite crop varieties, primarily focusing on identifying the genetic and epigenetic changes created during cloning and developing tools to enhance plant performance through targeted genome manipulation. The student will be mainly based in the department of Life Science at Warwick. S/He will spend up to 3 months at KWS and will undertake extensive training opportunities provided by the BBSRC funded Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP). The candidate would be expected to have at least a 2:1 degree on Biology or a science related subject. The studentship covers the 4 year value of stipend, fees and incidental costs for home students. The studentship will start in October 2018. More information about MIBTP can be found at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/mibtp/. For applications please apply via the online application form https://postgrad.warwick.ac.uk/SWIFT.web/skins/pgapp/login.aspx, selecting course code P-C1PB (Life Sciences PhD). In the finance section of the form please enter MIBTP and iCASE “Enhanced phenotypic variation”. Enquires about the studentship should be directed to: Dr. Jose Gutierrez-Marcos, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL. Tel: +44 (0)2476 575077. Email: [log in to unmask]