Postdoctoral Research Associate
Genetics / Molecular Biology of Host Resistance to Fungal Pathogens
Postdoctoral Research Associate (Plant Molecular Geneticist) available to
investigate the genetics and molecular biology of resistance to the
obligate fungal pathogen, Erysiphe graminis, in barley. The candidate will
be responsible for molecular, genetic, and functional characterization of
gene-specific sequences identified on a 200-kb BAC contig spanning the Mla
resistance-gene cluster. Approaches may include, but are not limited to,
isolation of cDNAs specific for candidate alleles, characterization of new
Mla-mutant specificities, functional analyses of candidate alleles via
barley and wheat transformation, or use of expressed resistance gene
sequences as traps in the yeast two-hybrid system to identify interacting
gene products in the host and/or pathogen.
These approaches will be facilitated by our well-characterized,
high-resolution, recombinant mapping populations, and will complement
ongoing projects on the genetics of resistance to obligate fungal biotrophs
in cereal crops. Ph.D. in genetics, molecular biology, plant pathology or
related field. Experience in manipulation and cloning of large DNA
fragments, gene mapping, DNA sequencing & computational analyses, and/or
cereal transformation is desirable. Initial appointment is for two years;
salary starts at $31,897 per year + benefits. Highly-motivated individuals
should send curriculum vitae, reprints, and three references (name, e-mail,
phone, address, and fax) to:
Dr. Roger Wise, USDA-ARS
Department of Plant Pathology
351 Bessey Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, IA, 50011
Telephone: (515) 294-9756
Fax: (515) 294-9420
E-mail: rpwise at iastate.edu
[Citizenship limitations on this position (funded through USDA-ARS),
requires that it be filled by 1) citizens of the United States, 2) a
citizen of a country which is a member of a defense treaty, eg., NATO,
SEATO, RIO treaty or 3) by citizens of countries which the U.S. congress
has specifically exempted from the restricting legislation. These
countries include: Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil,
Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras,
Iceland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal,
Spain, Thailand, Tobago, Trinidad, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States,
Uruguay, Venezuela, Ireland, Israel, (South Vietnamese, Cambodian, and
Laotian refuges paroled into the U.S. after January 1, 1975), (Aliens from
Cuba, Poland, South Vietnam, countries of the former Soviet Union, Estonia,
Latvia, and Lithuania admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence),
(Natives of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands), and
(Nationals of the Peoples Republic of China that were in the U.S. on or
before June 5, 1989 up until April 11, 1990, and qualify under the Chinese
student protection act of 1992)]
About Iowa State University
Ames (http://www.ames.ia.us/) is a small city of 50,000 people, about half
of whom are students
(http://www.demographics.com/publications/ad/98_ad/9801_ad/ad980130.htm).
Affordable housing is available as well as a first-rate public
transportation system. It is also easy to get around town by bicycle. The
city and the University (http://www.iastate.edu/) have numerous parks and
recreation facilities, and the Iowa State Center, home of Hilton Coliseum,
C.Y. Stephens Auditorium and Fisher Theater, hosts numerous music concerts,
live performances, and athletic events throughout the year.
About the Wise Lab
Facilities and Equipment
The PI's laboratory contains ca. 1000 square feet of space and has been
approved by the Iowa State University Biohazards Safety Committee for work
with recombinant DNA at a BL2 containment level. The lab is on the 4th
floor (shared with ten other plant-molecular biology laboratories) of
Bessey Hall on the ISU campus. Sufficient cold storage facilities are
available for long-term storage of seed stocks in the Seed Science Center
across the street. We also maintain a 1000 square foot room equipped with
400-watt sodium lamps in the ISU-Plant Pathology greenhouse and 3 - 4
growth chambers.
All equipment required for recombinant DNA research is contained within the
PI's laboratory. These items include balances, refrigerators, -20 and -80
freezers, refrigerated high-speed and microcentrifuges, incubators,
incubator shakers; two hybridization ovens, numerous autoradiography
cassettes and intensifying screens; horizontal, vertical, and two CHEF
Mapper pulse-field gel electrophoresis apparatus; power supplies, water
baths, pH meter, and three MJ Research programmable thermal cyclers. Items
available as communal equipment located in a central-user facility on the
same floor include ultracentrifuges, visible-UV spectrofluorimeter,
electroporator, liquid nitrogen supply, gel dryers, incubator shakers, UV
transilluminators and gel imaging system, autoclaves, speed-vac, water
deionizers, scintillation counter, spectrophotometers, laminar flow hoods,
a PDS-1000 Biolistic Gun (DuPont/Bio-Rad) and a regulated growth room for
tissue culture. An Internet-connected Power Macintosh 8500/200 is
contained within the PI's office, and several other Macintosh computers are
available within the PI's program. Mapmaker version 3.0 is available
through ISU's UNIX mainframe, accessible from a work station in the Plant
Pathology Computer Facility on the same floor as the PI's laboratory.
MapManager v2.6.5 software for Macintosh is currently licensed by the PI.
The UWGCG DNA sequence analysis software on the University's Vax cluster is
accessible directly from the PI's office or through the Plant Pathology
Computer Facility.
Other Resources
Iowa State University has several centers on campus capable of assisting in
a variety of techniques as well as supplying a wide range of specialized
equipment and expertise.
The newly established ISU Plant Transformation Facility (PTF) provides
maize and soybean transformation services to ISU researchers (advice is
available for other crops as well). Dr. Kan Wang, the director of the PTF,
has extensive industrial experience in the transformation of maize. The
PTF is staffed by two M.S.-level transformation specialists.
The Nucleic Acids Facility operates a Biosearch 8750 four-column DNA
synthesizer for oligonucleotide synthesis, several Applied Biosystems
Automated DNA sequencers, three Waters HPLC systems for automated
purification of DNA, Perkin Elmer/Cetus thermal cycler, and numerous
computers, digitizers, and plotters. These are operated by two full-time
technicians. ISU will soon have a state-of-the art DNA microarray facility.
The ISU Bessey Microscope Facility provides a variety of instrumentation
and technical assistance in light, scanning and transmission electron
microscopy and image analysis. Equipment includes a JEOL 1200/EX
scanning/transmission electron microscope (STEM), a Hitachi HS-8-2
transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a JEOL JSM-35 scanning electron
microscope.
_____________________________
Roger Wise, USDA-ARS
Department of Plant Pathology
409 Bessey Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, IA
50011-1020 USA
Phone: 515-294-9756
Fax: 515-294-9420
E-mail: rpwise at iastate.edu
_____________________________
