DAGZ > Topics for theses - Abschlussarbeitenbörse

Regulation of plant development by O-glycosylation

O-glycosylation of nuclear and cytosolic proteins is an essential post-translational modification that regulates signaling pathways in the course of plant development. In contrast to other glycosylation events, a single monosaccharide - N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) or fucose - is attached to serine or threonine residues of a high number of very diverse proteins. We are studying the effect of this type of protein glycosylation on different aspects of plant development such as flowering time, shoot branching and leaf size.

We are looking for a Master student with background in molecular biology/biochemistry and an interest in plant biology, to study the interaction between two different O-glycosyltransferases and a family of transcription factors. Techniques include yeast-two hybrid assays and co-immunoprecipitation, as well as analysis of reporter-lines to study the effect of O-glycosylation on the function of transcription factors.

Duration: 6 months, starting in September 2022.

Payment: 'geringfügig' (ca. 470 € / month)

The work will take place at DAGZ in Muthgasse 18.

Contact:
Doris Lucyshyn  e-mail

Identification and characterization of lectins important for plant development

O-glycosylation of nuclear and cytosolic proteins is an essential post-translational modification that regulates signaling pathways in the course of plant development. In contrast to other glycosylation events, a single monosaccharide - N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) or fucose - is attached to serine or threonine residues of a high number of very diverse proteins. We are studying the effect of this type of protein glycosylation on different aspects of plant development, and how it is regulated by interaction with lectins.

We are looking for a Master student with background in biochemistry / molecular biology, and an interest in plant biology, to study the interaction between cytosolic lectins and O-glycosylated proteins. Techniques include co-immunoprecipitation and binding assays, as well as design and cloning of constructs to generate plant lines lacking a number of specific plant lectins, using the CRISPR-Cas9-system.

Duration: 6 months, starting in September 2022.

Payment: 'geringfügig' (ca. 470 € / month).

The work will take place at DAGZ in Muthgasse 18.

Ansprechperson:
Doris Lucyshyn  e-mail

O-glycan engineering for recombinant protein production in plants

Plants are attractive alternative expression hosts for the production of recombinant proteins. Many therapeutic proteins are glycosylated with N- and O-glycosylation being the most prevalent forms of protein glycosylation. While N-glycans have already been extensively modified in plants towards the formation of homogenous mammalian-type glycoforms with equal or improved biological function compared to mammalian-cell culture produced glycoproteins little attention has been paid to the modification of O-linked glycans. In this MSc thesis project, novel strategies for the production of mammalian-type O-glycans in plants should be investigated.

Contact:
Richard Strasser e-mail  

Cooperative Master Thesis with Laimburg Research Centre/Südtirol

[DE] In Südtirol führen verschiedene Alternaria-Arten zu Schadsymptomen an Blättern und Früchten im Erwerbsobstbau. Die genauen zeitlichen Abläufe einer Alternaria-Infektion im Feld sind jedoch noch weitgehend unklar, deshalb besteht die Masterarbeit aus folgenden Arbeitspaketen:

-    Probenahme im Feld (Frucht, Blatt, Rinde) im Laufe der Vegetationsperiode
-    Optimierung einer qPCR-Multiplex zur Identifizierung der verschiedenen Arten 
-    Quantifizierung der Alternaria-Arten auf den verschiedenen Geweben 

[EN] Various Alternaria species may lead to considerable leaf and fruit symptoms in commercial South Tyrolean apple orchards. However, the exact procedure of an Alternaria infection in the field is largely unknown, therefore the master thesis will cover three parts:

-    Field sampling (fruit, leaf, bark) over the course of the vegetation period
-    Identification of Alternaria species by optimizing a qPCR-Multiplex
-    Quantification of the Alternaria species 

Contact:
Univ.Prof. Dr. Joseph Strauss  e-mail     

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Cooperative Master Thesis: What makes Fusarium aggressive? 
Genetic, epigenetic and bioinformatic genomic analysis of different Fusarium graminearum strains with variable virulence on wheat 

Description
Different strains of the wheat pathogen Fusarium graminearum which were cultivated in different labs around the world over several years, were re-sequenced using Illumina high throughput sequencing. Despite the fact that these strains originate from the same original type strain, their descendants show strongly differing phenotypes in respect to growth, reproduction, secondary metabolite production and plant pathogenicity. The aim of the thesis is to identify structural mutations or putative epimutations (in epigenetic regulators) that are linked to the different phenotypes and identifying putative genes or regulatory regions. The majority of work will be done computationally but some wet lab-work will also be required. 

Required skills:

  • Lab courses in microbiology and molecular biology, e.g. MoBi courses LMBT or Lab Course Agricultural Genetics, or equivalent
  • Experience with any Linux OS
  • Any skills in programming, data analysis and/or R are welcome, e.g. as introduced in the courses “Essentials for Bioinformatics Data Analysis” and “Sequencing Data Analysis”
  • Interest in genetics and epigenetics of microorganisms (fungi)

The student will learn how to work on Linux systems with high throughput sequencing data, data handling, genome mapping, variance analysis, genome wide interpretation and visualization of data using free software including R. Additionally, some lab work on fungi will be done.

General information: Travel expenses to Tulln will be refunded. Extension of the student’s engagement beyond the required six months Master Thesis period will be paid by a student employment contract.
Start: as soon as possible (Sept.2019)

 

Ansprechpersonen: 

Univ.Prof. Dr. Joseph Strauss
Fungal Genetics and Genomics Lab
Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology
Campus BiRT-Tulln 
A-3430 Tulln/Donau
e-mail: joseph.strauss(at)boku.ac.at
https://boku.ac.at/dagz/fungal-genetics-and-pathogens
Univ.Prof. Dr. Heinz Himmelbauer
Bioinformatics Group
Department of Biotechnology
Campus VIBT Muthgasse
A-1190 Wien
e-mail: heinz.himmelbauer(at)boku.ac.at
http://seq.boku.ac.at/foswiki/bin/view/Home/WebHome

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