PhD Position Zoology- Aberdeen University, UK

Functional Characterisation of Effector Proteins of the Fish Pathogenic Oomycete Saprolegnia parasitica

Supervisor: Professor Pieter van West

Application Deadline: Tuesday 31 May 2016

Description

Water moulds such as Saprolegnia spp. are responsible for devastating infections on fresh water fish and in particular salmonids.  It is estimated that at least 10% of all hatched salmon die due to Saprolegniosis in Scottish fish farms, which represents significant financial losses and is a serious animal welfare concern.  Our long-term objective in the Aberdeen Oomycete Laboratory is to dissect the molecular mechanisms that enable Saprolegnia spp. to successfully infect fish and use this information to develop alternative control methods.

To investigate what type of gene arsenal Saprolegnia might use to colonise its host, we recently sequenced the genome of Saprolegnia parasitica and found several large gene families coding for putative secreted proteins involved in pathogenesis, effectors.  In particular, we found a group of proteins that are likely to translocate into the fish host cells based on sequence homology predictions.  Therefore our hypothesis is that this group of putative effectors function inside the host cells.  We propose to functionally characterise this group of proteins and investigate whether they do play a role in the infection process by employing several state of the art techniques including RNA-interference, protein overexpression and translocation studies using fish cell lines and confocal and electron microscopy.

At the completion of the project you will have demonstrated whether the putative effectors can be translocated, when they are expressed, whether they are required for pathogenicity and which proteins of the host they interact with and possibly interfere with.

References

Belmonte, R., Wang, T., Duncan, G.J., Skaar, I., Mélida, H., Bulone, V., van West, P. and Secombes, C.J. (2014). Role of pathogen-derived cell wall carbohydrates and prostaglandin E2 in immune response and suppression of fish immunity by the Oomycete Saprolegnia parasitica. Infection and Immunity 82, 4518-4529.   

Saraiva, M., de Bruijn, I., Grenville-Briggs, L.J., McLaggan, D., Willems, A.,  Bulone, V. and van West, P. (2014). Functional characterization of a tyrosinase gene from the oomycete Saprolegnia parasitica by RNAi silencing. Fungal Biology 118, 621-629.                                                                                                                                  

Baron, O.L., van West, P., Industri, B., Ponchet, M., Dubreuil, G., Gourbal, B., Reichhart, J-M. and Cousteau, C. (2013). Parental transfer of the antimicrobial protein LBP/BPI protects Biomphalaria glabrata eggs against Oomycete infections. PLoS Pathogens 9(12): e1003792.                                                                                 

Jiang, R.H.J., de Bruijn, I., Haas, B.J., Belmonte, R., Löbach, L., Christie, J., van den Ackerveken, G., Bottin, A., Bulone, V., Díaz-Moreno, S.M., Dumas, B., Fan, L., Gaulin, E., Govers, F., Grenville-Briggs, L.J., Broad Genome Annotation Group, Horner, N.R., Levin, J.Z., Mammella, M., Meijer, H.J.G., Morris, M., Nusbaum, C., Oome, S., Phillips, A.J., Rzeszutek, E., Saraiva, M., Secombes, C.J., Seidl, M.F., Snel, B., Stassen, J.H.M., Sykes, S., Tripathy, S., van den Berg, A.H., van Rooyen, D., Vega-Arreguin, J.C., Wawra, S., Young, S., Dieguez-Uribeondo, J., Russ, C., Tyler, B.M., and van West, P. (2013). Distinctive repertoire of potential virulence genes in the genome of the oomycete fish pathogen Saprolegnia parasitica. PLoS Genetics 9(6) e1003272.                                                                                             

Wawra, S., Bain, J., Durward, E., de Bruijn, I., Minor, K.L., Matena, A., Löbach, L., Whisson, S.C., Bayer, P., Porter, A.J., Birch, P.R.J., Secombes, C.J. and van West, P. (2012). Host-targeting protein 1 (SpHtp1) from the oomycete Saprolegnia parasitica translocates specifically into fish cells in a tyrosine-O-sulphate–dependent manner. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109, 2096-2101.

Funding and Eligibility

This project is part of a competition funded by the Elphinstone Scholarship Scheme.  Successful applicants will be awarded full tuition fees (UK/EU/International) for the duration of a three year PhD programme.  Please note that this award does not include a stipend.

This award is available to high-achieving students.  Candidates should have (or expect to achieve) a minimum of a First Class Honours degree in a relevant subject.  Applicants with a minimum of a 2.1 Honours degree may be considered provided they have a Distinction at Masters level.

Application Process

Please apply for admission to the 'Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Sciences' to ensure that your application is passed to the correct college for processing.

Please provide a copy of the degree certificate and transcript for each previous degree undertaken, a copy of your English language proficiency certificate (if relevant), and contact details of two referees who can comment on your previous academic performance (at least one should be from your current degree programme).  References will be requested if you are selected for interview.  Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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