Linking genomic diversity to symbiotic phenotypes in Wolbachia

Description

The ACCE DTP is committed to recruiting extraordinary future scientists regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith or religious belief, pregnancy or maternity, parental or caring responsibilities or career pathway to date. We understand that a student’s potential can be shown in many ways and we strive to recruit students from all backgrounds, and support them on their scientific journey.

We have designed our application systems to identify candidates who are likely to be successful in research regardless of what opportunities may have been available to them prior to their application.

Various support and guidance on applying for an ACCE DTP studentship, including how to apply; what we’re looking for (including our assessment rubric); details of financial support, training, and placement opportunities available; and details of our recruitment process, can be found at https://accedtp.ac.uk, in the ‘prospective applicants’ tab.

Project overview

Background:

The important role of bacterial symbiosis in evolution and adaptation is evident in insect biology, but often remains poorly understood due to difficulties in culturing both organisms for studies.This project aims to close some of these knowledge gaps by firstly, bringing a wider diversity of symbiont strains into lab culture and testing their response to temperature, then utilising genomic and bioinformatics techniques to create digital models of predicting symbiotic phenotypes. The symbiotic bacterium Wolbachia, known for its capacity to establish relationships with a broad range of insect species.

Our focus will be on the two important elements of Wolbachia biology: temperature sensitivity, and cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a well-characterised reproductive manipulation. CI benefits females infected with the same Wolbachia strain by reducing competition for mates, leading to selective sweeps through insect populations that can be modulated by the effects of temperature on Wolbachia. The project aims to predict the propensity of specific Wolbachia strains to induce CI and the magnitude of this effect within host populations.

Objectives:

• Collection and characterisation of Wolbachia from wild insect populations from the UK into cell culture.
• Characterisation of the pangenome of Wolbachia strains associated with temperature tolerance and cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), focusing on identifying core genomes and metabolic functions
• Deployment of artificial intelligence methods to explore the diversity and function of genes involved in phenotypes.
• Confirm research outcomes through proteomic analysis of Wolbachia proteins involved in CI and thermal tolerance.
• Test hypothesised phenotypes using both in vitro (infected insect cell line) and in vivo (whole colonised insect - e.g., Galleria) experimental setups.

Novelty:

Lies in utilising unique cell culture techniques from Liverpool.

Timeliness:

The genes responsible for CI are identified, a substantial Wolbachia genome collection is accessible, and the University of Liverpool has cultured new Wolbachia strains, allowing diverse strain investigation.

Essential and Desirable Criteria

Essential

• Working knowledge of entomological identification
• Computer literate
• Basic lab skills

Desirable

• Field work experience
• Basic bioinformatics
• Cell culture experience

How to Apply

Notes and details of how to apply are available here: https://accedtp.ac.uk/phd-opportunities/

All applicants to ACCE must complete the ACCE personal statement proforma. This is instead of a personal/supporting statement or cover letter. The proforma is designed to standardise this part of the application to minimise the difference between those who are given support and those who are not. Candidates should also submit a CV and the contact details of 2 referees.

Part-Time Study Options

All ACCE PhDs are available as part time or full time, with part time being a minimum of 50% of full time. Please discuss potential part time arrangements with the primary supervisor before applying to the programme.

Project CASE Status

This project is not a CASE project. While individual applicant quality is our overriding criterion for selection, the ACCE DTP has a commitment for 40% of all studentships to be CASE funded - as such, CASE projects may be favoured in shortlisting applicants when candidates are otherwise deemed to be equal or a consensus on student quality cannot be reached. This will only be done as a last resort for separating candidates.