Project background: Microorganisms in drylands have to endure long periods of drought, interrupted by unpredictable and very short periods of rain. Dormancy – an inactive state or a state of reduced metabolic activity – has long been regarded as a prerequisite for desert soil microorganisms to survive such drought periods. However, as dormancy cannot be sustained indefinitely, phases of resuscitation must also play an important role for long-term survival of desert soil microorganisms and thus for maintaining microbial diversity in one of the harshest environments on the planet.

In this project, we are investigating the survival strategies of desert soil microorganisms and the mechanisms of their resuscitation. This will be achieved by applying genome-resolved metatranscriptomics of desert soil microbial communities, building upon knowledge gained by our recent metagenomics investigations of biological soil crusts from the Negev Desert, Israel (Meier et al., 2021). In situ community transcription patterns will be linked with single-cell activity assays as described in Imminger & Meier et al., 2024, employing a recently developed heavy water-NanoSIMS assay to detect anabolically active cells, and combined with process measurements.

The PhD position is embedded in a larger project within the Excellence Cluster ‘microPlanet’ investigating functionality, resistance, and resilience of microbial communities in different environmental and medical systems experiencing pulsed perturbations or environmental oscillations.

We are offering a PhD student position for up to 4-years according to the funding scheme of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) in an interdisciplinary, international, and dynamic team of environmental microbiologists and microbial ecologists. The position provides the opportunity for the candidates to be creative and innovative, and to work in a multidisciplinary project involving various cutting-edge methods.

Required qualifications:

• A MSc degree (or equivalent) in microbiology, ecology with a focus on microbial ecology, or a related field.
• Being highly motivated with a strong interest in microbial survival and to learn new methodological skills required for the project.
• Practical experience with laboratory work and in molecular techniques to investigate diverse microbial communities (such as 16S rRNA gene-amplicon sequencing).
• Experience in genome/-omics analysis is of advantage but not mandatory; interest in such analysis is expected.
• Additional bioinformatics skills such as working knowledge of R and scripting languages, as well as a solid knowledge of statistical data analysis would be of additional advantage but are not mandatory.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English is mandatory. The ability to communicate and work in a team is essential.

What we offer:

• Highly topical research at the intersection soil microbial ecology, microbial physiology and bioinformatics.
• Combination of omics-data analysis with lab-based experiments and field work.
• A diverse and stimulating work environment at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, in the Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science.
• Participation in the Doctoral School in Microbiology and Environmental Science.
• Access to diverse facilities for state-of-the-art analyses and unique instruments for single-cell activity assays.

How to apply: Your application should contain of a letter of motivation addressing the stated qualifications for the position, research interests and relevant experience. The application should further consist of your CV (including a publication list if applicable), university certificate(s) including grades and contact information of two references. For more information on the application process please go to the webpage ‘How to apply’ of the Cluster of Excellence ‘microPlanet’ project. To apply for the position of this job advertisement, please choose the position ‘Survival and resuscitation mechanisms of desert soil bacteria’, associated with WP 7.3.

Starting date: The position will start in summer 2024, or as soon as filled.

For further information please also visit Dagmar Woebken’s personal webpage.