PhD Researcher (m/f/d) - Adaptation and acclimation of the clonal oak’s ectomycorrhizal fungi to biotic and abiotic environmental factors

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) with its 1,100 employees has gained an excellent reputation as an international competence centre for environmental sciences. We are part of the largest scientific organisation in Germany, the Helmholtz association. Our mission: Our research seeks to find a balance between social development and the long-term protection of our natural resources.

Symbiotic interactions with holobiont partners that enhance nutrient and water uptake by trees, the ectomycorrhizal fungi, can support host acclimation to changing conditions, with benefits for long-lived trees facing climate change. There are serious gaps in our understanding of the ecological roles of ectomycorrhizal fungi at the level of inter- and intraspecific diversity: how do they mediate root functions and support tree adaptation and acclimation? Furthermore, are ectomycorrhizal fungi adapted to their local environmental conditions? The project aims to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the contribution of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis to the acclimation of oak holobiont under biotic and abiotic stressors, taking into account the endogenous rhythmic growth. The ectomycorrhizal root tip communities will be analysed in field-monitoring sites, Tree Canopy Exposition and Ecotron Experiments of the Research Unit 5571 “PhytOakmeter”. These ecological gradients and experiments will represent a wide range of environments and controlled stress situations, and will allow analysis of the modulating influence of the endogenous rhythmic growth on ectomycorrhiza formation and function. A combination of morphotyping, enzyme activity, metabarcoding and gene expression analyses supports the project's objectives. The Research Unit (https: // www. uni- marburg.de/en/fb17/phytoakmeter) is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).