Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Fredericton, New Brunswick (Canada) is looking for candidates for two post-doctoral fellowship positions of three years, to understand factors influencing the severity of common scab of potato. Common scab is a bacterial disease responsible for important economic losses every year and there is still no reliable method to control the disease. This is due to a poor understanding of the dynamic of the pathogenic Streptomyces population, of the influence of agricultural practices and of the biotic and abiotic factors influencing the severity of common scab. The project’s overall goal is to develop innovative control methods for common scab of potato. The specific objectives of the project are 1) to measure the effect of biopesticide and agricultural practices on common scab (position 1) and 2) to compare the biotic (microbial communities using metagenomics) and abiotic (edaphic and environmental) factors between healthy and common scab infected fields (position 2).
Applicants should have experience in plant pathology, molecular biology and next generation sequencing of microbial communities (position 2). Knowledge of English is required. The candidate needs to be Canadian citizen or permanent resident and meet the criteria of the NSERC Visiting Fellowship in Canadian Government Laboratories Program (http://www.nserc- crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PD-NP/Laboratories- Laboratoires/index_eng.asp). The position will be opened until filled; suggested start date is September. Please send a resume to: Dr. Claudia Goyer ([email protected]), Potato Research Centre, AAFC, Fredericton, NB. Fax: (506) 460-4377.
