Determination and characterization of Bacillus spp. genetic traits involved in plant growth promotion

Master thesis project at Chr. Hansen A/S.
Department of Bacterial Physiology and Strain Improvement.

Project type: Master project

According to the United Nations World Food program, feeding the projected world population of 9 billion people by 2050 will require that agricultural yields increase by 70-100%. Plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR) are beneficial bacteria that possess the ability to colonize the roots and/or inner plant tissues and promote plant growth by either acting as biofertilizers or via biological control of plant disease.

During this master thesis project the candidate will help developing novel and creative microbial solutions to increase agricultural productivity. The student will work with Bacillus natural isolates and will apply state-of-the-art molecular microbiology techniques in order to genetically manipulate them. The candidate will implement a number of screening assays for plant growth promotion traits. In addition, selected strains will be physiologically characterized in depth.

Requirements:

• We search for a highly motivated student, eager to learn and with an innate scientific curiosity.
• Previous knowledge or experience in molecular biology, general microbiology techniques and/or bioinformatics would be an advantage.
• We would appreciate responsible and mature students that can show certain independence in their research after receiving the adequate training.

The candidate will receive training/will acquire knowledge on:

• Genetic transformation of Bacillus strains: Electroporation, phage transduction and transformation of naturally competent cells.
• Generation of mutant strains.
• State-of-the-art molecular biology techniques.
• qPCR
• Fluorescent microscopy
• Bacterial physiology

Supervisors: Patricia Dominguez-Cuevas and Rute Neves
E-mail: dkpacu@chr-hansen.com