Postdoc position in plant synbio is available

Project description
The focus of “The Black Holes in the Plant Universe” research initiative is to unravel the biological mechanisms behind the intriguing ability of specific plants (e.g. sorghum, vanilla orchid, cannabis) to store rare and sparingly soluble natural products at seemingly impossibly high molar concentrations in liquid form in an attuned matrix of simple molecules termed a natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES). The cellular formation and organization of the NADES-based bio-condensates remain unchartered territory. Joint research expeditions into this territory will be organized to provide invaluable clues into plants’ orchestration of such NADES-based bio-condensates for production, regulation and storage of bio-active natural products while avoiding autotoxicity. The research defines new approaches for future plant-based production of high-value natural products and takes our understanding of plant plasticity and adaptation to climate change to an entirely new level. The research project will thus contribute with highly attractive knowledge for design and development of more efficient and commercially sound bio-production systems, focusing on the importance of storage of desired high-value natural products in plant cells in NADES-based bio-condensates. This type of storage is nature´s way to avoid auto-toxicity issues and unbalanced cell homeostasis and provides a third liquid phase that most likely enables plants to more swiftly adapt to environmental challenges. In summary: Learning from the principles in nature, the aim is to optimize the storage capacity of plant-based production systems by introducing formation of NADES based bio-condensates harboring desired high-value natural products in molar concentrations.

See more and apply here: https://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/?show=152202

Deadline is September 1st, 2020