*MSc or PhD position in sardine genomics/bioinformatics* *University of Johannesburg, South Africa* The Molecular Zoology Laboratory at the University of Johannesburg (Auckland Park, South Africa) invites applications for a full-time MSc or PhD (preferred) position in genomic and transcriptomic work on sardines. The position is funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) for a maximum of 3 years and is available immediately. This project is part of a multidisciplinary collaboration that presently includes Dr Peter Teske (University of Johannesburg, phylogeography), Dr Carl van der Lingen (DAFF, fisheries research), Prof Christopher McQuaid (Rhodes University, ecology) and Prof Luciano Beheregaray (Flinders University, genomics). Instead of the usual approach of employing a geneticist and having a bioinformaticist help with the data analysis, we are instead considering employing a bioinformaticist and teaching her/him the limited amount of genetic methods that will be required for the project. The student should have experience working in a Unix/Linux environment, and should preferably also have some experience analysing genomic and/or transcriptomic data. Genetic laboratory skills are not required. Remuneration is R (ZAR) 60 000 per year (NRF) + top-up funding from the University of Johannesburg + funds paid out for publications. Given that the cost of living is very cheap in South Africa, this amount of funding is quite substantial. The student should ideally be based at the University of Johannesburg (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Johannesburg) for the duration of the project. The university is located next to the cosmopolitan suburb of Melville, which has a particularly interesting mix of nightlife and culture (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melville,_Gauteng). Although NRF bursaries are normally reserved for South African students, they can be allocated to foreign students on a first-come-first-served basis, using the following quota system: MSc: 10% for African students from outside South Africa; PhD: 15% for African students, 5% for foreign students from outside Africa. A short summary of the project is included below. The complete proposal is available on request; interested students should please contact Dr Peter Teske. Dr Peter Teske Head: Molecular Zoology Laboratory (Aquatic Division) Department of Zoology University of Johannesburg, Kingsway Campus Auckland Park 2006 South Africa Email: pteske101@gmail Private website: sites.google/site/drpeterteske/ Flinders University Molecular Ecology Lab: molecularecology.flinders.edu.au/ Summary: Understanding the stock structure of marine populations is critical for the sustainable management of marine resources. Molecular methods have demonstrated that many southern African marine species are subdivided into multiple distinct populations, but even though there is non-genetic evidence for spatial heterogeneity in the southern African sardine, Sardinops sagax, previous molecular analyses have failed to confirm this. It is likely that the apparent lack of genetic structure is merely a consequence of the technical approaches that have been applied to date (genotyping of a small number of selectively neutral loci) being too uninformative to study a species that is expected to show only minimal genetic divergence between stocks. Recent technological advances in DNA sequencing technology (Next-Generation Sequencing) show considerable promise for studying the stock structure of *S. sagax*. First, these methods can generate data from hundreds of thousands of loci, and are thus more likely to capture the few loci that show genetic structure when it has only developed very recently. Second, it is possible to identify gene regions that are involved in adaptation to regional environmental conditions, and which are more likely to show divergence among southern Africas temperature-defined marine regions than are selectively neutral loci. The present research project will use genomics (RAD-seq) and transcriptomics (RNA-seq) to comprehensively address the issue whether or not the South African sardine resource comprises multiple stocks. We expect that the data generated will be useful to formulate management guidelines that will benefit the sustainable exploitation of this economically important species. In addition, the project will contribute towards resolving whether or not there is a universal link between genetic structure and biogeography, and it will improve South Africas research capacity in the area of genomics research. -- *Dr Peter R Teske* Senior Lecturer Office D3 LAB 225 Department of Zoology University of Johannesburg, Kingsway Campus Auckland Park 2006 Johannesburg South Africa Private website: sites.google/site/drpeterteske/ Flinders University Molecular Ecology Lab: molecularecology.flinders.edu.au/ Peter Teske
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 14:29:01 +0000