-----Original Message-----
From: bco-bounces@lists.oulu.fi [mailto:bco-bounces@lists.oulu.fi] On Behalf Of Anita Tienhaara
Sent: 22. tammikuuta 2009 13:19
To: FinBioNet@sender-02.it.helsinki.fi
Subject: [Bco] PhD students and a post-doctoral fellow are sought in theconsortium project "Functional Genomics of Wood Formation -Towards k

POSITIONS FOR PhD STUDENTS AND POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW, UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI

PhD students and a post-doctoral fellow are sought in the consortium project "Functional Genomics of Wood Formation - Towards knowledge-based breeding of wood", starting from 1st March, 2009.

The project consists of several subprojects, in which PhD thesis work can be done. Post-doctoral fellow is sought to contribute to the subproject "heartwood extractives":

We are looking for talented applicants who have skills in the areas of molecular biology, biochemistry, plant physiology and bioinformatics. Our target plant species are poplar, birch, spruce and pine – more detailed information is available below. Please send applications (with CV and publication list ) to:

Teemu Teeri ( teemu.teeri@helsinki.fi )

Heartwood extractives and decay resistance in pine

Kurt Fagerstedt ( kurt.fagerstedt@helsinki.fi )

Lignin biosynthesis in spruce

Ykä Helariutta ( yrjo.helariutta@helsinki.fi )

Cytokinin and wood in birch

Jaakko Kangasjarvi ( jaakko.kangasjarvi@helsinki.fi )

Ethylene and wood in poplar

Processing of applications will start from 15th February 2009.

Molecular understanding of lignin biosynthesis

The project has two aspects, on one hand it contains a cell biological part, which concentrates on monolignol transport mechanisms in developing tracheids in Norway spruce using immuno- and radioactive labelling of monolignols in a tissue culture line of Norway spruce. On the other hand, the project contains a bioinformatic-population genetic part where genes related to variations in lignin amount and quality are searched for in collaboration with Finnish Forest Research Institute. For further information contact Kurt Fagerstedt at kurt.fagerstedt@helsinki.fi

Decay resistance and heartwood extractives

In this part of the project we search for genes causing natural genetic variation in important heartwood traits, specifically extractives of pine (Pinus sylvestris) relating to decay resistance of wood material (timber). The long term aim of the project is to enhance the supply of high-quality

In Scots pine, we have found ample genetic variation in the decay resistance of heartwood (Harju and Venäläinen 2002), which was to a large degree explained by heartwood extractives (total phenolics, mainly stilbenes; Venäläinen et al. 2003). Structural genes encoding enzymes of the stilbene pathway will be the first candidate genes for extractives. We propose to characterize the polymorphisms on the stilbene synthase gene PST-1 in detail, and expand the analysis to further structural genes of the pathway, as well as to the yet uncharacterised regulatory genes of the pathway. Our aim is to find close markers, in essence the causative polymorphisms, in genes on the pathway to stilbenes in Scots .

The methods applied include sampling and sequencing of stilbene pathway genes in pine populations with varying levels of heartwood extractives and decay resistance, investigating UV and wound induced stilbene biosynthesis in pine seedlings, and search for regulatory genes for the pathway with DNA microarray and massive parallel sequencing methods. A post doctoral fellow and a PhD student will be hired for this subproject. For details and applications, please contact Professor Teemu Teeri ( teemu.teeri@helsinki.fi ; http://www.mm.helsinki.fi/mmsbl/english/research/Gerberalab/ )

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Anita Tienhaara

Institute of Biotechnology

P.O.Box 56 (Viikinkaari 9)

FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland

tel +358-9-191 59656

fax +358-9-191 59550

email anita.tienhaara@helsinki.fi