förslag på master-, kandidat- och verksamhetsförlagda ... · förslag på master-, kandidat- och...

Förslagpå

Master-,Kandidat-ochVerksamhetsförlagdaprojekt

inomBiologi

Suggestionsfor

Master,BachelorandAppliedprojectsinBiology

Pleasesee:

1. https://bioenv.gu.se/Utbildning/examens--och-tillampningskurserforgeneralinformation(inSwedish)

2. https://bioenv.gu.se/Utbildning/examens--och-tillampningskurser/projektforslag-och-kontaktpersoner-foranoverviewofallresearchers(=yourpotentialsupervisors)atBioenvandtheirfavouritetopics.

3. Belowarealotof(moreorlessspecific)suggestionslisted!

N.B. For all external projects (outside GU), an internal supervisor has to be identified. In many cases, such supervisors are indicated in the adverts below, but if not, you are expected to be active in finding an internal supervisor that is willing to take on the chore!

ThislistiscompiledbyLottaKvarnemo([email protected]).Lastupdated:February2019.

• Westudythebehaviourandecologyofsalmonidsinthefieldandthelab

• Ourresearchaddressesbothbasicandappliedproblems

• WeuseanetworkofnationalandinternationalcollaboratorsInterestedindoingBachelorprojects,AppliedprojectsorMScprojects?ContactJohanHöjesjö:[email protected]

BehaviouralstudiesFieldstudiesTigertrouthybrid

Exjobb på Lilla Edets kommun

2018-2019begränsadmöjlighetatttaemotexjobbaremenfrågagärna!

Förslagpåprojekt

• Kiselalgersomindikationpåmiljökvalitetivattendragmedavseendepånäringochmiljögifter

• Enskildaavloppochlokalpåverkanpåsmåvattendrag• RestaureringavbetesmarkerkringGårdaån• AnläggavåtmarkerförattuppnåMKNiGårdaån–möjligheterochbegränsningar?• Ellerandraförslag!

OmnågonärsärskiltintresseradavflodpärlmusslafinnsettbeståndiSollumsån.Ånärklassadsommåttligekologiskstatus,harfrämstproblemmedmiljögifter,försurningochfysiskpåverkan.TillrinningfrånVäktor-sjöarnasomkalkas.Viharingetplaneratfrånkommunenssidamenmedverkargärnaochkommermedidéer.ProjektenkanutformassomMaster-,kandidat-ellerverksamhetsförlagdaprojekt.DegörsmedAnnaTausonsomexternhandledare(senedan)ochJohanHöjesjösominternhandledare([email protected]).

AnnaTauson,Kommunekolog/Miljö-ochhälsoskyddsinspektör,SamhällsbyggnadsförvaltningenBesöksadress:Järnvägsgatan12.Postadress:LillaEdetskommun,46380LillaEdetTelefon:0520-659578,[email protected],www.lillaedet.se

Master Projects in Plant Molecular Biology

supervised by Cornelia Spetea Wiklund research group at BioEnv

Chloroplast ion channels/transporters in Arabidopsis The aim of the project is to understand how ions move across chloroplast membranes and their role in regulation of photosynthesis in a fluctuating light environment. The project involves use of molecular biology, protein analyses and chlorophyll fluorescence in Arabidopsis wild type and knockout mutants. Types of proteins in focus: Mg2+ and Ca2+ channels/transporters.

Improving photosynthetic energy conversion for biomass production in microalgae

The aim of this project is to find suitable algae strains for whole year production of renewable biomass on the Swedish west Coast. The project is in collaboration with Anna Godhe and involves screening a collection at UGOT using chromatographic and photo-synthetic methods for strains with high lipid production and good acclimation to a dynamic light environment.

If interested, contact Cornelia for details at [email protected].

Plant Molecular Systematics projects

Thestudysystem:Silene,aplantgenusofc.700species.

Somespeciescontainbothhermaphroditicandmale-sterileindividualsandhavebeenusedasevolutionarybiologymodelsforsexevolution.Polyploidy(wholegenomeduplication)hasoccurredseveraltimesinthegenus,withbothhybridandnon-hybridoriginsofspecificpolyploidspecies.

MyresearchgroupusesNGSdatatounderstandthephylogeneticrelationshipsamongspeciesandtomakespeciesdelimitations.Whatspeciesare,andhowtheyshouldbedelimitedfromoneanother,hasbeenoneofthemajorpracticalchallengesintheentirehistoryofbiology.Althoughmorphological,anatomical,chemicalandotherfeatureshavebeenheavilyusedinthepast,thishasnotalwaysprovensatisfactoryinsomegroupsofplants.Newstatisticaltoolshaveenabledthedevelopmentofamethodofspeciesdelimitationthatusesmanygenephylogeniestodothisinamoreobjectivewaythathasbenedonepreviously.

Studentprojectsprimarilybasedondataanalysis,usingourexistingdatasets,canbedevelopedtosuitastudent’sinterests.

Interested?Contact:[email protected]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sannse

Seedraininnorthernmountains-variationamongyearsrelatedtoclimateregimes(15hp)WithintheITEX(InternationalTundraExperiment)network,severalsideprojectshavebeeninitiatedatmanyofthefieldstationsacrossthepan-arctictundra.AttheLatnjajauresiteinnorthernmostSwedishLapland,wearefocusingonvariousaspectsofthecryrosphereinrelationtoclimatechangeimpacts.Therefore,wearenotonlydealingwiththehighlyspecializedplantcommunitiesintopographicdepressions(snowbeds),butalso,moreinterestingly,howtheseplantsareconnectedwithinalandscapematrix.Wehavedeployedseedtrapsinopentundra(withlesssnowcover)aswellasinsnowbeds,andallthesesamplesarenowavailableforanalysis.Foridentifyingspeciesfromseedmorphology,wehaveanextensivereferencecollectionatBioEnv.Theoverarchingsciencequestionsforthisprojectisifvariationinseedrainamongyearsisrelatedtoclimateregimes.

Thisprojectcanbedoneanytimeoftheyear!


NBThisstudyhasbeendesignedandtheseedscollectedbyUlfMolau,professoremeritusatBioEnv.Hewillthereforeactas“external”supervisor.InternalsupervisioncanpotentiallybeprovidedbyLasseTarvainenand/orJohanUddling.

Fish eco-physiology Overview and background Our group‘s research addresses questions in eco-physiology and stress biology of fish, particularly as they relate to integrated cardiovascular and respiratory functions. We are broadly interested in how fish interact with their environment, and how they respond and acclimate to environmental (e.g. temperature, hypoxia and salinity) and man-made stressors (e.g. climate change, aquaculture-related). We look for highly motivated students to take on research projects as a masters or bachelors thesis. Most student projects involve animal experimentation and you will receive training in various advanced surgical and in vivo experimental techniques. Experimental work is performed at the Dept of Biological and Environmental Sciences (Zoology building, Medicinareberget). Your project will typically be performed and co-supervised within the framework of ongoing research projects of the groups’ PhD students or post-docs. All projects, particularly those at MSc. level (45-60 hec), address novel and relevant questions at the forefront of fish eco-physiological and aquaculture research, and will be designed with the aim to provide data suitable for presentation at scientific conferences and publication in scientific journals. Examples of current research themes

• Mechanisms of temperature tolerance and linkages to cardiorespiratory and neural functions

• Cardiorespiratory interactions and metabolic plasticity to aquatic warming and

hypoxia

• Role of cardiovascular and metabolic adjustments in osmoregulation and salinity tolerance

• Stress biology and welfare of fish in aquaculture

Contact and information

Please contact Professor Erik Sandblom (Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences, GU) for further information and to discuss currently available projects in the group. Email: [email protected] Phone: +(46) 703 286358 Web: https://bioenv.gu.se/personal?userId=xsane

Masterproject/Exjobb(45-60hp)inEnvironmentalNanotoxicology

General background

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) are among the manufactured nanomaterials with the highest product volume and use in commercial and industrial products (e.g. paints, inks, cleaning agents, cosmetics, sunscreens). TiO2 NPs can be accidentally released into the environment and are suspected to be the most abundant manufactured nanomaterial in European surface waters. Aquatic organisms are already and will get increasingly exposed to this novel environmental contaminant. During the last years an enormous effort has been undertaken to assess the ecotoxicity of TiO2 NPs yielding a vast body of literature on their innate (eco-)toxic potential showing that they can be taken up by fish and accumulate in different organs.

General objective: The degree project will be part of a larger project, which aims to go beyond classical nano-ecotoxicological studies taking into consideration nanoparticle interactions with traditional, i.e. chemical pollutants that may co-exist in the environment and/or in the body. Since this issue remains hitherto almost completely unaddressed, the degree project bears a great potential to generate new scientific knowledge and contribute to advancing the development of this novel and exciting research area.

Project overview

The objective of this project will be to find out if, how and to which extent mixtures of TiO2 NPs and organic chemical pollutants may cause toxicity in fish. The project will focus on determining toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic interactions at the molecular and cellular level by means of the use of conventional and advanced in vitro models based on fish cell cultures (e.g. co-culture systems). The experimental work will include the characterisation/further development of the test systems, exposure of the cell cultures to TiO2 NPs and TiO2 NP-chemical mixtures under different experimental conditions, and measurement of various biomarker responses (cytochrome P450 1A, antioxidant enzymes) using enzyme activity assays and gene expression analysis (RT-qPCR), amongst others.

Supervision

The applicant will be supervised by Dr. Tobias Lammel and Assoc. Prof. Joachim Sturve at the Zoological Institute, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg.

Requirements

Ideal applicants are MSc level students with a strong background and/or interest in Environmental-, Nano- an In vitro Toxicology and a high motivation to conduct scientific research. Previous experience in research, in particular in cell culture, biochemistry and molecular biology techniques is highly appreciated, but not a prerequisite. In addition, she/he should have good organizational and analytical skills, a positive and proactive attitude, and be able to work both independently and in a team. Furthermore, since we are an international research group, the applicant needs to have a high level of English in speaking, reading and writing.

Interested?

If you are interested and would like to have further information on the project and/or would like to directly apply for the position please send an email to: [email protected]

Masterproject/Exjobb(45-60hp)inEnvironmentalToxicology/InvitroToxicology

General background

In vitro experimental systems based on continuous fish cell lines have been proven to be a powerful tool to unravel molecular mechanisms and predict the toxicity of single chemical compounds with unspecific mode of action in fish. However, most continuous cell lines have the shortcoming that they have partially or completely lost tissue-specific functionalities resulting in uncertainties regarding their suitability to predict in vivo toxicity.

It has been demonstrated that cell lines can regain certain tissue-specific functionalities when they are grown as three-dimensional (3D) spheroidal aggregates cultures. When grown in a 3D environment cells are surrounded and interact with other cells. This intercellular connectivity assists in maintaining tissue-specific cell shape and polarity, which are required for tissue-specific functions (in liver cells these include for instance expression of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzmes, xenobitic efflux pumps etc.).

The rainbow trout liver cell line RTL-W1 belongs to the fish cell lines, which is most widely used in environmental toxicology research. It has been demonstrated to exhibit several important liver-typic functions including cytochrome P450-dependent mono-oxygenase and ABC transporters activities. Furthermore they share morphological and functional characteristics with bile preductular epithelial cells, which are considered to function as stem cells in teleost liver. It has been demonstrated that RTL-W1 aggregate cultures grown in agar show hepatocytic differentiation regaining structural and functional features of hepatocytes in their physiological environment.

The project

The objective of this degree project is to further develop a fish-cell based in vitro model, which better reproduce hepatotypic functions and responses that would naturally occur in vivo, in order to improve their predictivity and application for environmental toxicity testing. The experimental work will include the optimization of a protocol to grow 3D spheroidal aggregate cultures based on RTL-W1 cells (see Figure), the structural and functional characterization of the cultures (e.g. regarding the viability of the cells in the interior and expression of hepatocyte-specific genes/enzymes), as well as their application for toxicity testing of chemical compounds and/or engineered nanomaterials. The methods employed will include routine cell culture techniques, enzyme activity assays, gene expression analysis and microscopy analysis.

Supervision

The applicant will be supervised by Dr. Tobias Lammel and Assoc. Prof. Joachim Sturve at the Zoological Institute, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg.

Requirements

Ideal applicants are MSc level students with a strong background and/or interest in Biology, In vitro Toxicology or Ecotoxicolgy and a high motivation to conduct scientific research. Previous experience in research, in particular in cell culture and molecular biology techniques is highly appreciated, but not a prerequisite. In addition, she/he should have good analytical skills, a positive and proactive attitude, and be able to work both independently and in a team. Furthermore, since we are an international research group, the applicant needs to have a high level of English in speaking, reading and writing.

Interested?

If you are interested and would like to have further information on the project and/or would like to directly apply for the position please send an email to: [email protected].

Figure. 3D spheroids

Marinepelagicfoodwebstructure Thelowertrophiclevelsofthemarinepelagicenvironmentareahighlydynamicpartofthecoastalecosystem.Myresearchfocusesonclarifyingtheecologicalfunctionofthesmallestplantsandanimalsinthissystem.Alotisknownaboutthezooplanktonlargerthan1mmandalsoofthephytoplanktonsmallerthanthissize.Butthereisagenerallackofunderstandingofwhatcontrolsthetrophiclevelsofthesesmallorganisms.Icansuperviseprojectsinvolvingexperiments,observationsandfieldstudiesoftheplanktonintheGullmarfjordandworkbasedatKristineberg.

Recently,wehavediscoveredpotentialtrophicstructureamongthemicrozooplanktonandwewouldliketostudythisinmoredetail.Correlationstudiesindicateanintermediategrazinglevelbetweenciliatesandsmallautotrophicphytoplankton.Studentprojectscanbedevelopedtosuityourinterestinthisfield.


Formorebackgroundinfo,see:http://plankt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/fbw096?ijkey=m22pNm0OJQAfz9z&keytype=ref

AsuggestedscenariohowcopepodsandMnemiopsisleidyimayaffectthelowertrophiclevelsofthefoodweb.A.InyearswithoutM.leidyithecopepodsareabundantcontrollingtheciliatebiomassandreducingthelargerphytoplankton.Thiscreatesaflagellatedominatedbaseforthefoodweb.B.WhenM.leidyiremovesthecopepods,ciliatesthriveandreduceflagellateswhilesupportingM.leidyilarvalgrowth.InordertostarttherapidreproductionofM.leidyi,asufficientfractionthecopepodbiomassneedstoberemovedtorelieveciliatesfromtheirpredationpressure.Greenarrowsindicatechangesinphytoplanktonbiomass,bluearrowsindicatechangesinzooplanktonbiomass.

FunctionalGenomicsofMarineDiatoms

TheseprojectsaresuitableasBachelor(15hp/hec)orMasterdegreeprojects(30-60hp/hec).Start:Spring/Autumn2018.

BackgroundDiatomsperformaround20%ofglobalphotosynthesisandthusplayacrucialrole in the world’s carbon assimilation. They are also central to globalbiogeochemical cycles through the mineralization of silica, carbon andnitrogen.Thelong-termgoalofourresearchistounderstandthegeneticandmolecularmechanismsunderlyingthesuccessofmarinediatomswithinthephytoplanktoncommunitiesandhowthiswillbeaffectedbyongoingclimatechange. The model species is Skeletonema marinoi (see right), a chain-formingdiatomthatisabundantincoastalregionsworldwide.Alongwiththerecentlycompletedgenomesequence,genetic transformationofS.marinoihasnowbeendevelopedandthemoleculartoolsforidentifyingthegenomicinsertion site ineach transformant.Manyof these insertionsdisruptnativegenes, thereby creating specific loss-of-function mutants. ThesetransformantsarenowpartofalargerS.marinoimutantcollection(SMMC)thatwillbeusedtolinkgenefunctiontodifferentdiatomcharacteristics.

ProjectideasPhenotypicscreeningoftheSMMC.ThestudentwillusetheSMMCtosearchformutantsaffectedinimportantphysiologicaltraits,suchasnutrientuptakeandassimilation(e.g.,Fe,Si,N),adaptationtodifferentenvironmentalfactors(salinity,temperature,pH)orchemicalsensitivity(e.g.,heavymetals,pharmaceuticals).

Generation,identificationandcharacterizationofmutantlines.Thestudentwillusethedevelopedtransformationmethodtogenerateadditionalmutantlinesinordertomapthegenomicinsertionsitewithineach.Dependingonthegeneidentityineachmutant,theresultingphenotypeswillbeexaminedtodeterminethespecificfunctionofeachgeneandtheirsignificanceforS.marinoigrowthanddevelopment.

ThemicrobiomeofdiatomsEachdiatomissurroundedbyaveryspecificsetofmicroorganisms.EightofthesehavebeenisolatedfromtheSkeletonemaculture.Thestudentwilltrytodetermineaspecificroleforoneormoreofthesebacteriainvolvedintheirinteractionwiththediatom.

MethodsDependingoftheproject,studentswillusetechniquessuchasDNA/RNAextraction,PCR,gelelectrophoresis,cellculturing,lightandfluorescencemicroscopy,chlorophyllfluorescence

measurements,GC/LC-MS,DNAsequencing,bioinformatics.

Interested,wanttoknowmoreorhaveanyquestions?Contact:

ProfessorAdrianClarke([email protected])Dr.OskarJohansson([email protected])

Algal ecotoxicology: adaptive responses to herbicides pollution

Microalgae are the main source of food and

oxygen production in freshwater ecosystems. In

agricultural streams, the water quality is frequently

impacted by pesticides, and algae have to

develop tolerance mechanisms to survive and

cope with this chemical stress. This project aims to compare the

sensitivity of different strains of algae isolated from a Swedish river

impacted by pesticides when exposed to selected herbicides. Adaptive

biochemical and physiological responses of stream algae to herbicides

pollution will be evaluated using laboratory ecotoxicological assays. For

this, several methods and approaches will be used: algal batch-cultures,

toxicity tests, flow cytometry (FC), light and fluorescence microscopy,

HPLC, chl fluorescence techniques and enzyme assays.

This project can be suitable for Master, Bachelor or Applied projects in

Biology. The project will be conducted at “Botan” building, BioEnv Dept,

GU.

Interested, want to know more or apply?

Contact: Natàlia Corcoll ([email protected]).

Miljöbron – tre intressanta projekt/three interesting

projects:

• http://vastragotaland.miljobron.se/files/2017/08/E17_Cementa3.pdf• http://vastragotaland.miljobron.se/files/2017/08/E18_Kungsbacka-

friluftsliv-1.pdf• http://vastragotaland.miljobron.se/files/2016/12/E16_Kungsbacka-

kommun.pdfKontaktperson/Contact person: Maria Rydberg,Verksamhetsledare Miljöbron

– länk mellan student och näringsliv_________________________________________________________________________Miljöbron | http://vastragotaland.miljobron.se/Växel: +46 (0)31- 202 789 | M: +46 (0)766-12 17 51Adress: Anders Carlssons Gata 7, 417 55 Göteborg

Wearelookingforabiologystudenttohelpus

fighthungerinBangladeshusingwheat!

Areyouabiologystudentwithpassiontoworkinalaboratorysettinginateamtogetherwithotherbiologists?Wearenowlookingfora10weekappliedprojectworkertojoinusinourplantbreedinglab.

Background:

Around7%oftheworldsagriculturelandcantodaynotbeusedbecauseofhighsalinityinthesoils.However,theworldpopulationkeepsgrowingande.g.urbanizationtakemoreoftheagricultureland.Thismakesitessentialtousethe7%highlysalineinordertofeedthepopulationinthefuture.

TheprojectinvolvesworkingwithamutagenizedwheatpopulationfromBangladeshwiththeaimoffindingafewlinesofthepopulationthatismuchmoretoleranttohighsalinitythanthecontrol.TheselinesisintendedtobeusedinBangladesh.

Ifyouhaveabackgroundinplantbiology,cellandmolecularbiology,microbiologyorcloselyrelatedfieldsyouareverywelcometoapplyforthe10-weekproject.

Tasks:

Youaregoingtoworkwithseveraldifferentwheatlinesandanalyzetheirrootsandshootsduringsaltstresswithdifferentassaysinthelab,aswellasworkingtocharacterizedifferentsalttolerantgenesusingomicstools.TheworkwilltakeplaceattheDepartmentofBiologyandEnvironmentalSciencesnexttotheBotanicalgarden.

Application:

PleaseapplywithbysendingyourCV,references,andashortletterdescribingyourbackgroundtoProfessorHenrikAronsson([email protected])andPhDstudentJohannaLethin([email protected])

Photofromfarmer´sareainsouthernBangladeshtobeusedfortestingourbestsalttolerantwheatlines(November2017)

Post-copulatory sexual selection: ovarian histology and spermstoragecapacityinfemalepainteddragonlizardsSexual selection via male-male competition and female choice can occur both pre- and post-copulation.Prior tocopulation, these largely takethe formofmaleterritorialaggressionandmateguardingpairedwithfemalemateassessmentandchoice.However,thebattleforinseminationdoesnotendwith copulation.Within the female reproductive tract,male spermcompete for access toeggs (A)while femaledriven spermselectionor “cryptic female choice”mayultimatelydeterminefertilizationsuccess.

In the polymorphic Australian painted dragon lizard(Ctenophoruspictus),malereproductivemorphsvaryintheircapacity to fertilize eggs. While the red-morph (B) is moresuccessful at maintaining a territory, and achieves greateraccess to mates in this way, yellow morph (C) sperm isselectively favored, likely as a consequence of largerejaculates. In this desert species, life-spans are short andaccesstooptimalmatingsmayvarywithseasonalconditions.Females (D) mate multiply and store sperm betweenovulation cycles, thereby retaining the ability to inseminateeggs even when optimal mate opportunities are notavailable.Asaconsequence,malesmayachievereproductivesuccess, even after they themselves are no longer living.Female capacity to store sperm is not only adaptive inensuring the opportunity to produce fertile eggs, it mayindicate thepresencemechanisms for cryptic femalechoiceasstoredspermisfavoredoverfreshsperm.

How and where females store this sperm, what protectivemechanisms they provide to guarantee sperm survival overlongspansof time(andevengivetheseoldspermselectiveadvantage), andwhat, if any,mechanisms are employed inspermselectionremainlargelyunexplored.

We will address these questions via histological and morphological analysis of preserved femalereproductivetissue.Byuseofselectedbiologicalstains,wewillbeabletovisualizethestructureandlocationofspermstoreswithinthereproductivetract.Whilethespermstoragecapacityofreptilianspecies remains understudied, the location and structure of these glands varies across these taxa(uturus/ infundibulum).Wewillalsobeabletodetermineiftheepithelialcellssurroundingspermstoresaresecretory,whichwouldindicatethattheyarecapableofprotecting,lubricating,andevenprovidingnutrientstothestoredsperm.Thelocationofthespermstoragetubulesthemselves,maybeimportantinexplainingtheselectiveadvantageofstoredsperminthisspeciesduetodifferencesinswimdistances.

Weseekamotivatedandorganizedstudenttospear-headtheseresearchefforts.Applicantsshouldbe Bachelor’s orMSc level studentswith theoretical interest in sexual selection and reproductivephysiologyandeitherabackgroundorseriousinterestinthefollowingtechniques:microscopy,cellhistology,biologicalstaining,andcellstereology.

Interested?Contact:[email protected]@bioenv.gu.se

Annotation of wheat genes linked to saline resistance Wearelookingforamotivatedstudentthatwilldevelopawebapplicationformappingfunctionalresiduestoexplorestructuralannotationofwheatgeneslinkedtosalineresistance Proteinsbindtoligandstoperformallkindsofimportantandessentialcellularprocesses.Theybindviaanetworkofweak,noncovalentintermolecularinteractionssuchashydrogenbonding,hydrophobicandelectrostaticinteractions.Thus,bindingofsubstrateisrequiredformanyproteinstofunctionproperly.Alargenumberofbioinformaticstoolsareavailabletopredictligandbindingsitesasafirststepinunderstandingaprotein’sfunctionortoperformdockinganalysis.Inmostcases,forbindingsiteprediction,thethree-dimensionalstructure(experimentallydeterminedorahomologymodel)ofthetargetproteintobesearchedforligandbindingsite(s)isrequired.Methodsareavailablewheremultiplestructurescanbeusedforcomparingthebindingsiteforstructurallysimilarligands.However,mappingthebindingsiteonamultiplesequencefileusingknowncrystalstructuresarenotavailable.Asmostoftheproteinsofwheatgenomeremainuncharacterised,itwillbeofprimeimportancetomaptheligandbindingsiteusingmultiplesequencealignment.Thisprojectfocusingondevelopingawebbasedapplicationusingdifferentsoftwareforpredictingandmappingthebindingsitesofthetargetproteinsofinteresti.e.forsalineresistance.Theresultswillbeusedtoimprovemolecularbreedingofwheattohelpfighthungerandpovertyindevelopingcountries.Startingdate:Spring2018Contactpersons: ProfHenrikAronsson([email protected])

PhDSameerHassan([email protected])

Mechanisticunderstandingofnovelgeneticstargetsindiabetes,heartfailureandchronickidneydisease

Projectdescription

Cardiovascularandmetabolicdiseasesareabigburdentopatientsandthesociety.Currently,mosttreatmentsaresymptomaticanddonotchangetheprogressionofdisease.Therefore,atAstraZeneca,weareleveraginghumangeneticstofindcausativecandidategenestotargetwithnoveldrugsthatarelikelytodeliverdiseasemodification.ThestudentwilljoinTranslationalSciencewithinCVRM(Cardiovascular,RenalandMetabolism)andfocusonhumantargetvalidationindiabetes,heartfailureorkidneydiseasetodelivernoveltargetproposalswithstronggeneticandexperimentalvalidation.TogetherwiththeBioinformaticsteamwegeneratehypothesesbasedonhumangeneticsandomicsdatafornovelcausativetargetswithdiseasemodifyingeffectsindiabetes,heartfailureandCKD.Often,thegenesidentifiedarenotstudiedbeforeandhavenoknownfunctioninthetargettissue.Thestudentwillpartakeintheexperimentalprocessofunderstandingthefunctionofthesenovelgenesinrelevantcellsortissues,therebydevelopingskillsinexperimentdesign,primarycellculture,diseasebiology,andhypothesisgenerationbasedonexperimentaldata,mentoredbyexpertsincellbiology.

Duration:1semesterormore(≥30hp),MasterorBachelorlevel.

Qualifications

Experienceinmammaliancellcultureandmolecularbiologytechniquesisdesired.

Contactperson:BjörnTyrberg,PhD,associateprincipalscientist,[email protected]

DevelopmentofanLC-MRMassayforbiomarkerstudiesinIgAnephropathy.

Liquidchromatographyhyphenatedtotandemmassspectrometricanalysis(LC-MRM)hasgainedpopularityasananalyticalplatformforthetargetedquantificationofproteins,suchasbiomarkersandbiopharmaceuticals,incomplexbiologicalsamples.OneadvantageousfeatureoftheLC-MS/MSplatformisthepossibilityofquantifyingmultiplecompoundssimultaneously.Moreover,theuseofinternalstandardsenhancestheaccuracyandprecisionoftheanalyticalmethodbyofferingcorrectionforanalyticalvariabilityduetothesamplehandlingsteps.ThismeansthatLC-MRMiswellsuitedtobeusedinclinicalstudieswherenormallyasmallnumberofproteins,suchaspotentialbiomarkers,aremeasuredacrosslargepatientcohorts.Recently,anewtechnologycalledquantitativeproteinepitopesignaturetagantigens(QPrESTs)havebeenintroducedtothescientificcommunity.Briefly,QPrESTscontainastretchof50–150aminoacidsidenticaltoahumanproteintargetincludingatleasttwouniquetrypticpeptides.TheQPrESTstandardisaddedtothesampleatanearlystageinthesample-preparationworkflow(priorthetrypsination),andaftertrypsinationthestableisotopiclabelledpeptideisreleasedandcanbeusedasaninternalstandard.

TheaimofthisprojectistoestablishanLC-MRMassayusingthevastQPrESTresourceofrecombinantproteinsmadeavailablebytheHumanProteinAtlasProject(www.proteinatlas.org)atKTH.ThestudentwillestablishaquantitativeLC-MRMassayforquantitationofcomplementfactorsinhumanbloodplasmaanduseitinafeasibilitystudyonIgAnephropathytowardsclinicallyinterestingproteins.


Contactperson:TassoMiliotis,PhD,associateprincipalscientist,[email protected]

PathologicalmechanismsunderlyingcardiachypertrophyandfibrosisinHeartFailure

ThismasterthesiswillbeperformedatAstraZenecaGothenburgintheBioscienceHeartFailureteamoftheCardiovascular,RenalandMetabolismdepartmentwhereyouwillbeapartofadynamicresearchteamandlearnmoreaboutdrugdiscoveryinthepharmaceuticalindustry.

Projectbackground

Heartfailureisalife-threateningandchronicconditionthatseverelyimpactsthequalityoflifeandaffectsover25millionpeopleworldwide.Evenwhentreatedwiththestandardofcare,50%ofthepatientswilldiewithinthenext5yearsascurrenttreatmentoptionsarelimitedandarefocusedonsymptomrelief.

Heartfailureispredominantlytheresultfromsignificant,andoftenprolonged,cardiacstresscommonlycausedbyhypertension,coronaryarterydisease,diabetesormyocardialinfarction.Thehearthascompensatorymechanismswhichattempttocounteractthisstressandamelioratetheheartfunction.Oneofthesemechanismsiscardiachypertrophy,whichischaracterizedbytheincreaseofcardiomyocytesize,resultinginthethickeningofthecardiacwalltoenhancecardiacperformance.However,thishypertrophyisusuallyaccompaniedwithfibrosisandcanleadtoexcessiveandabnormalenlargementoftheheartmuscleleadingtocardiacimpairment.Cardiachypertrophyisthereforeconsideredasapredictorofcardiovascularmorbidityandmortality.

Thepathophysiologicalmechanismsunderlyingcardiachypertrophyarecomplexandmultifactorialwiththeinvolvementofdifferentcell-signallingpathwaysandcross-talkbetweendifferentcelltypes.Unravellingthesemechanismsisessentialinordertoprotectthemyocardiumfrompathologicalremodellingandtopreventtheprogressiontoheartfailure.

Aimandmethodsoftheproject:

• UnravelcellsignallingpathwaysinvolvedinhypertrophyinductioninrodentcardiomyocytesandhumaniPSderivedcardiomyocytesusingdifferentmediators.Changesincardiomyocytessizewillbeassessedbyhigh-contentmicroscopyandgenetranscriptionprofileswillbemappedoutviaRT-PCR,followedbyvalidationonproteinlevel(usingELISAandImmunohistochemistry).

• Monitorphenotypicchangesinsarcomereandmitochondrialstructureduringcardiomyocytehypertrophyusinghigh-contentmicroscopyandquantitativeimageanalysis.

• Investigatetheeffectofinflammatorycellsoncardiomyocytehypertrophywith2Dcellculturesmeasuringthepreviouslydeterminedsignallingpathwaysandphenotypicchanges.Inparallel,thecross-talkbetweenfibroblastsandinflammatorycellswillbestudied,focusingonfibrosisinduction.Usingtheinformationgainedfromthe2Dcellcultures,a3Dcardiacspheroidmodelwillbegeneratedwithcardiomyocytes,fibroblastsandinflammatorycellstostudythemechanismunderlyingcardiachypertrophyandfibrosisinheartfailure.


Contactpersons:YannickMorias,[email protected],PhD,[email protected]

Developingaribosomalimmunoprecipitation(IP)approachforstudyingthebeta-celltransdifferentiation

Projectdescription

Diabetesisametabolicdiseasethatisassociatedwithbeta-cellfailure,includingbeta-celldysfunctionandlossofbeta-cellmass.Increasingstudieshaveshownthatbeta-cellscanberegeneratedfromotherpancreaticcellstypessuchasalpha-cells,bytransdifferentiation.Transdifferentiationhasthusreceivedagreatdealofattentionbecauseofitspotentialofdevelopingbeta-cellsforcellreplacementtherapy.However,themechanismofbeta-celltransdifferentiationisstillobscure.

Inordertounravelthemechanismsbywhichalpha-celltransdifferentiateintobeta-cell,wewillgeneratehumanalpha-cells(SC-alphacell)frominduciblepluripotentstemcellsandtransplantthemunderthemousekidneycapsule.Thexenograftswillthenbeanalysedbyusingaribosomalimmunoprecipitationapproach,togetherwithRNA-Seqtoidentifythekeychanges/transcriptsduringthetransdifferentiationprocess.

Theaimofthisprojectistodevelopandvalidatetheribosomalimmunoprecipitation(IP)protocol.WehavegeneratedantibodiesthatcanselectivelyIPhumanribosomesfromamixtureofhumanandmousecells.ThestudentwillusetheseantibodiestooptimisetheIPprotocolbytestingdifferentIPprotocols(orbeads),andfurthervalidateitintheinvivoapplicationofribosome-IP(transplantedtissue,translationalresponsetostimuli).Thetasks/objectivesforthisprojectwillbe:1)obtainanoptimisedIPprotocolthatworkswelltoshowspeciesselectivityandhighyieldofhumantranscripts(usemixtureofhumanbeta-cellandmousekidneycells);2)validateitsinvivoapplicationbytestingtranslationalresponsetostimuli.3)validateitsinvivoapplicationonthetransplantedtissue(mousekidneytransplantedwithSC-alphacells).


Qualificationsforthemasterstudent

PreviousexperiencewithbiochemistryandmolecularbiologytechniquessuchasIP,WesternblottingandRNAextractionispreferred.

Contactinformation

LihuaChen,PhD,postdocorBjörnTyrberg,PhD,associateprincipalscientist([email protected],[email protected])

InvestigatetherolephospholipidremodelingandsignalinginNon-alcoholicsteatohepatitis(NASH)

Projectdescription:

Phospholipidremodelingisanimportantformaintainingofcellularmembranesintegrityandgeneratingbioactivelipidsinresponsetocellularstressordamage.Accumulatingevidence,includinghumangenetics,suggeststhatphospholipidremodelingplaysakeyroleinthepathogenesisofliverfibrosisinNASH(Non-alcoholicsteatohepatitis)bymodulationoftissueinflammation.Thetraineewillhavetheopportunitytocontributetothisproject,bydevelopinganinvitrosystemmimickingNASH.Inparticular,thetraineewillbeinchargeofdeveloping3Dco-cultures-spheroids-oflivercelltypes,amenabletohighcapacityfunctionalassays(imagingofsteatosisandfibrogenesis)aswellaspharmacologicalandmolecularinterventionsimpactingphospholipidremodelingpathway(Antisenseoligonucleotides,smallmolecules,peptides,adenoviruses...).Ofnote,thetraineewillintegrateacross-functionalteamandwillbecloselyworkingwithapostdoctoralfellowtoestablishthe3Dinvitrolivermodelandtheoutcomeofthisworkwillbepartoffuturepublications.Finally,thetraineewillhavetheopportunitytobeexposedandpotentialcontributetodrugprojectsandgainsubstantialexpertiseinthisarea.


Desiredqualifications:

• TraininginCellandMolecularBiologybiochemistryorrelateddiscipline• Experienceinworkingwithprimarymammaliancellsandcelllines(e.g.livercells

typesisolationandculture)• ExperienceinusingadvancedmolecularbiologytechniquesinRNAandprotein

analysis(e.g.qPCR,WesternBlot…)• Althoughnotamust,experienceinanalysisofbioactivelipidsbyliquidandorgas

chromatography• Strongorganizational,communication(spokenandwrittenEnglish),interpersonal

skillsandtheabilitytoworkwellinateam

Contactpersonsandemail:

Mainsupervisor:

BaderZarrouki,PhD([email protected]):Teamleader,invivoteamdiabetes/NASH

Co-supervisors:

CarlWhatling,PhD([email protected]):AssociatePrincipalScientist,Translationalscience

Xiao-RongPeng,PhD([email protected]):Teamleader,invitroteamdiabetes/NASH

WhitetoBrownAdiposeTissueConversionandLiverCrosstalk

Increasingbrownadiposetissuemassorconvertingwhitefatintobrownfathasemergedasanewtherapeuticparadigmforthetreatmentofdiabetesandobesity.Brownadipocytesnotonlyincreaseenergyexpenditureandtherebyreduceectopiclipidaccumulation,butalsosecreteendocrinefactorsinvolvedinthecrosstalkbetweendistalmetabolictissues.Ascurrentmethodstocultureadiposetissueareallassociatedwithseverelimitations,wehavedevelopedanewmethodforlongtermcultureofisolatedmatureadipocytes.Thisnovelandimprovedtranslationalmodelallowsthestudyofcrosstalkbetweenadipocytesandothercelltypes,andfacilitatesmonitoringadipocytephenotypicchanges.Wealsohaverecentlyidentifiedcompoundsthatrobustlyconvertwhitefatintobrown.

Weproposetostudy:

1)Themolecularmechanismsoccurringduringthewhite-to-brownadipocyteconversion

2)Thecrosstalkbetweenwhite/brownadipocytesandhepatocytes

Adipocyteswillbeculturedalone,withhepatocytes,orinthepresenceofcompoundsthatinducethebrowningofwhitefat.Geneandproteinexpression,lipidcontent,andlevelsofcirculatingadipocytesecretedfactorswillbemeasured.

Thisworkwillbeperformedcollaborativelywithotherresearchersandpost-docs,andhasthepotentialtobeincludedinfuturepublications.Additionally,youwillgetexposuretothedrugdevelopmentbusiness.


Desiredqualifications:

- Experienceinperformingbiochemicalassaysandbasicmolecularbiologytechniquessuchasmeasurementofgeneandproteinexpression

- Experienceinmammaliancellcultureispreferred,andofadipocytesandhepatocytesinparticular

Contactperson:JeremieBoucher,PhD,principalscientist,[email protected]@gu.se

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremie-boucher-b11a8a22/

http://wcmtm.gu.se/research-groups/boucher

Developmentofcell-freecirculatingDNAassayasabiomarkerfordetectionofpancreaticbeta-celllossindiabetes

Projectdescription

Thelossofpancreaticisletbeta-cellhasbeenrecognizedasanimportantfeatureinthedevelopmentoftypeIandIIdiabetes.Lowcirculatinglevelofinsulinispresentonlyinpatientswhohavesignificantlossofbeta-cells.Therefore,thereisagreatneedtodevelopamoresensitivecirculatingbiomarkerassay,whichcanspecificallydetectthelossofpancreaticbetacellsintheearlystageofdiseaseprogression.Recentadvancementinmolecularbiologydemonstratedthatcell-freecirculatingDNA(cfDNA),releasedfromdyingcells,isanemergingdiagnostictoolformonitoringcancerdynamicsandgraftfailure.Lehmann-Wermanetal(PNAS(2016))developedamethodofdetectingbeta-cell-specificcelldeathinhumansbasedontissue-specificmethylationpatternsincfDNA.Recently,Gala-Lopezetal(Transplantation(2018))developedavariantofbeta-cellspecificcfDNAassay.Theyhaveshownthatthebeta-cellcfDNA,detected24hrsisletpost-transplantation,wasassociatedwithhigher1-monthinsulinrequirements(p=0.04).Thesefindingsvalidateourhypothesisthatthebeta-cellcfDNAcanbeusedasadiagnosticmarkerfordetectingearlystageoftypeIdiabetesinpatientswhomaystillhavesomeleveloffunctionalbeta-cellmassandtheirbeta-cellsmayberescuedbypharmacologicalagentsotherthaninsulininjection.Ourprojectwillfocusonthedevelopmentandimplementationofthebeta-cellcfDNAassayincollaborationwithGU.


Desiredqualifications

Familiaritywithcellcultureandmolecularbiologytechniquesisdesired.

Contactpersons:Ginnie(Hsiu-Chiung)Yang,PhD,seniorprincipalscientist,[email protected]örnTyrberg,PhD,associateprincipalscientist,[email protected]

AiroPlant–plant-atmosphereinteractionsinachangingworld

AiroPlantisaresearchgroupstudyingtheinteractionsbetweenvegetationandtheatmosphere.Ourresearchfocusisattheinterfacebetweenterrestrialeco(physio)logyandatmosphericscience,withparticularinterestinhowclimatechangeandairpollutionaffectplantsandecosystemsrangingfromarctictotropical.Youcanreadmoreaboutourresearchatourwebpage,https://airoplant.com/

WeregularlysuperviseBScandMScthesisprojectsinourvariousfieldsofresearch,i.e.ecophysiology,ecology,ecosystemscienceandenvironmentalscience.Somepossibleprojectareasarelistedbelow,butmostlyspecificprojectsareformedindiscussionsbetweenthestudentandpotentialsupervisor.YoucangetanideaofwhatkindofprojectsthatwesupervisebylookingatthedescriptionsoftheresearchinterestsofindividualAiroPlantmembersathttps://airoplant.com/peoplestaff/,aswellasbylookingatthelistofpastBScandMScthesesathttps://airoplant.com/education/msc-projects/.

BelowarelistedsomeareaswithinwhichAiroPlantmembershaveresearchandmaysupervisethesisprojects:

• Ecophysiologyandecosystemprocessesintropicalforests.EcophysiologicalandecologicalresearchontheclimatesensitivityoftreesinmontanerainforestandforestplantationsinRwanda.Thisispartofalong-termcollaborationbetweentheUniversityofGothenburgandtheUniversityofRwanda.SwedishstudentsmayapplyforstipendfromtheSwedishInternationalDevelopmentCooperationAgency(Sida)tocovercostsassociatedwithfieldworkinRwanda.Contacts:[email protected]ö[email protected]

• Airbornepollenandtheecologyofplantsthatproducethem.Researchonthisincludetheeffectofclimateonphenologyandreproductiveeffortaswellasmeteorology,pollenreleaseandtransport.Theimpactsofallergenicpollenonsymptomsandlifequalityarealsostudiedincooperationwithallergists,includingtheadditiveeffectsofallergenicpollenandairpollution.Contact:[email protected]

• SystemecologyfromaBiogeophysicalperspective.Researchquestionswithfocusonhowhumanlanduseandmanagementandenvironmentalchangeaffectthefluxesofcarbon,nitrogen,phosphorousandradionuclidesinterrestrialecosystems.Process-orientedmodelsareusedtoanalyzerelationshipsbetweenmanagement,vegetation,soil,climateandhydrology.Datafromlong-termexperimentsandtheSwedishnationalsoilinventoryareusedtotesthypothesesandvalidatemodels.Contact:[email protected]

• Airpollutioneffectsonvegetation.Researchonairpollutants,includingtheireffectonvegetationandthedynamicsoftheiroccurrenceinecosystems.Particularfocusontheeffectsofground-levelozoneoncropsandtrees.MostofthisresearchincludesinternationalcollaborationwithgroupsintheUK,China,IndiaandAustralia.Contacts:[email protected]@bioenv.gu.se

• Urbanvegetation.Researchontheeffectsofurbanvegetationonecosystemservicessuchascleaningoftheair(byairpollutiondepositiontovegetation),noise

reduction,andcreationoffavorablemicroclimaticconditions.Moreover,thevitalityofurbantreesandhowitisaffectedbytheharshurbanenvironmentandhumanplantingmethodsarealsostudied.Contacts:[email protected]@bioenv.gu.se

• Treetemperatureacclimation.Investigationoftreeacclimationcapacitytoincreasedtemperatureusingcontrolledexperimentsandstudiesalongnaturaltemperaturegradients.Differenttypesofthesisprojectsarepossibleonthistopic.Contacts::[email protected]ö[email protected]

• ThedirectuptakeofnitrogenbyNorwayspruceshoots.Itisvitaltogetinformationonthepathwaysbywhichthedepositednitrogenenterstheforestecosystems.Thishasimplicationsfortheevaluationofnitrogenimpactsonforestecosystemfunctions,boththeriskforleakagetosurfacewatersaswellasimpactsonbiodiversity.Projectintendedforonesemester.Contact:[email protected]

Pleasecontactustodiscusspossiblethesisprojects!

ModellingpopulationvulnerabilityofmarinemammalsThisMSc-projectaimsatcollectinglifehistorydatafromliteratureandtosetupapopulationviabilityanalysis(PVA)modelforsealsorharborporposies.

Marinemammals have slow life historieswith few offspring and a rather short life span.Seals andharborporpoisesare victims toby-catches in fishinggearand toenvironmentalpollutionthataffecttheirreproduction.

The current projectwill occur in collaborationwith eco-toxicologists andmarinemammalspecialistsatGUandatNRM(NaturalhistorymuseuminStockholm).

We seek amotivated and organizedMSc student with a strong interest in data analysis,programmingandecotoxicology. It is important that the student isboth independentandinterestedinteamwork.

Interested?

Contact:KarinHå[email protected]

Webpage:https://bioenv.gu.se/english/staff?userId=xhardk

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anna_Roos

Estimatingthelevelofradioactivecaesiuminmarinemammals

ThisMSc-projectaimsatanalyzingsamplesalreadycollectedfromBalticringedseals.

TheBalticringedsealsareknowtoaccumulateradioactivecaesiumCs-137 intheirmuscletissuefromthefoodweb(Saremietal2018).Wewouldnowliketogofurtherandquantifythe levels of radioactive caesium indifferent bodyorgans, fat, blood, heart, liver etc. TheideaistosetupamodelofhowCs-137ismetabolizedinmarinemammals.Theresultscanbeimportantinfutureriskassementsinradioecology.

Thework occurs in collaboration between BioEnv and theDepartment of Radiophysics atSahlgrenskaandtheMuseumofnaturalhistoryinStockholm.Thestudentwillgethelpwiththeradiologicalanalysis.

We seek amotivated and organizedMSc student with a strong interest in data analysis,ecotoxicologyandgoodwriting skills. It is important that thestudent isboth independentandinterestedinteamwork.

Interested?

Contact:KarinHå[email protected]

Webpage:https://bioenv.gu.se/english/staff?userId=xhardk

PotentialenförsötvattensfiskariÖstersjönsommatresursISverigefinnsdetuttaladestrategierkringökadsjälvförsörjandegradvadgällerlivsmedelsproduktionsamtuppmaningarfrånLivsmedelsverketattätamerfisk.IdagdominerasfiskkonsumtioneniSverigeavodladlaximporteradfrånNorge,ochöverhuvudtagetavimporteradfisk.Deninhemskaproduktionenärmycketlitenvadgällerodladfisksamtmångaavdeartervifiskarharolikautmaningaridagvadgällerattökafångsternapåetthållbartsätt.MångabeståndärredanfulltutnyttjadeellertomöverfiskadeochendelfiskiÖstersjönharocksåhalteravoönskadeämnensomgördemmindrelämpligatillkonsumtion.Fråganärhurvikanökadeninhemskaproduktionen(ochkonsumtionen)avfiskochskaldjurpåetthållbartsätt?DettaprojektethandlarspecifiktomattundersökapotentialenförÖstersjönsolikasötvattensfiskarsommatresurs.Frågorsomkanbelysasär:vadvetviomabundans,vilkamiljögiftersomutgörproblemochvadärpotentialensommatfiskförartersommört,id,braxen?Dessafiskarochsötvattensfiskargenerelltkonsumeradesimycketstörreomfattningförr,menidaghardeistortsettheltförloratsittvärdesommatfisk.IntressantnogärtexmörtenfisksomblivitmerpopulärsommatfiskiFinland,ochmångaandrasötvattensarterharstörrebetydelseiländernakringÖstersjönochäveninternationellt.Nedanlistasförslagpåforskningsfrågorsomärlämpligaförenellerflerastudenter.Storlekpåprojekt(en)blirberoendepådetantalfrågormanvillundersökaochantalartersominkluderas.Eventuelltkanmankantänkasigendjupdykningienartellerstuderaenellerettparfrågorförfleraarter.• Förvilkasötvattensarterfinnsdetinformationsombeskriverhurabundansharförändrats

itidenochvadgårattutläsaavdennainformation?Vadhardessaarterförlivshistorieegenskapersomkangeinformationkringt.ex.känslighetförfisketryck(dettakanundersökasmedhjälpavekologiskriskanalys).

• Vilkaarterprovtasvadgällerförekomstavolikamiljögifterochvilkaärriskernaförkonsumtion(fördesomprovtasochdesominteprovtas)?

• Vilkaarterätsiandraländerochivilkenomfattning?KanviförståvarfördeförloratsittintressesommatfiskiSverigegenomatttexundersökaförekomstenavolikaarterisvenskakokböckerfråndesenastehundraåren?

• Andraaspekterförhållbartfiske:kanettfiskeskeklimatsmart(dvsbaseratpåredskapsvalochfångstperansträngning)?Bifångster?Andraproblem?

Studentenärvälkommenattsittadelvis/heltidpåRISEkontoriDelsjömotetiGöteborg.Förslagetkommerfrån:SaraHornborgRISEJordbrukochlivsmedelSara.Hornborg@ri.seTel010-5166696DessaprojektgörsmedSaraHornborgsomexternhandledareochJohanHöjesjösom”intern”(dvsBioenv-baserad)handledare([email protected]).

HostanimalsoftickborneencephalitevirusTickborneencephalitevirus(TBEV)istransmittedtohumansviaticksandisoneofthefastestgrowinginfectiousdiseasesinSweden.ThoseinfectedbyTBEVrisksevereneurologicalsymptoms,whichhappensin20-30%ofthecases.Thesymptomsmayalsolastforaverylongtime.IntheVästraGötalandregion,thenumberofcaseshasincreasedsignificantlyduringthelast10years.TBEVwaspreviouslyprevalentintheStockholmregionandhassubsequentlyspreadalongtheGötaKanaltotheVästraGötalandregion.InGothenburg7patientshavebeeninfectedintheÄnggårdsbergenarea,andduringthelasttwoyears4tickscarryingTBEVhavebeenfoundina30x30meterareanearLakeFinnsmossen.TickborneviruseslikeTBEVnormallycirculatebetweenticksandaspecifichostanimal,andhumansarenottheultimategoalofthevirus.

ThepurposeofthisprojectistofindoutwhichanimalsinthisparticularareathatcarryTBEV.BybetterunderstandinghowTBEVsurvivesistransmitted,ourmeanstotrackandpossiblycontrolthespreadofthisviruswillincrease.

Theprojectcanbeimplementedasoneormoreprojectsofdifferentcharacter.Thegoalistofindtheunknownhostanimal,buttoalsobeablegeneralizetheoutcomeofthestudytootherareas,wewanttogetascompleteapictureofthebiodiversityintheareaaspossible.Theareainquestionisthusinneedofathoroughsurvey,primarilyofanimals,butalsoafloristicsurveyisapossibleprojectorpartofalargerproject.Thesurveyofanimalswillbeimplementedbyfieldobservationsandtrapping,butalsoeDNAorotherforensicmethodsmaybecomeinvolved.Thesurveyswillprimarilytakeplaceduringthespringandsummer,butyearroundsurveystargetingparticularspeciesmaybeofinterest.Theexactdesignandextentoftheprojectwillbedecideddependingontheinterest,ambitionandtimeavailabletotheinterestedstudent.

Iseekoneormoremotivatedstudentsinterestedinmakingafaunisticor

floristicsurvey,withapotentialtomakeabreakthroughregardingourknowledgeaboutthelifecycleofTBEV.

Level:TheprojectcanbescaledtosuitbothaBachelordegreeproject,Masterdegreeproject,orAppliedprojectinBiology.Start:springsemester2019.Interested?Contact:[email protected]

Gör examensarbete eller praktik på naturavdelningen, Länsstyrelsen i Jönköping

VälkommenattsökapraktikplatselleruppslagförexamensarbetepånaturavdelningenpåLänsstyrelseniJönköping!Viharlångerfarenhetavatttaemotstudenterförexamensarbeteellerpraktik.Påvårafemenheterarbetarvibrettmedolikanaturvårdsfrågor,alltfrånfiskevårdochrestaureringavvåtmarkertillförvaltningavviltochnaturreservat.Viförvaltarochutvecklardessutomnationelladatasysteminommiljöområdet.Inomvissaområdenharvikommitlångt,mendetfinnsmycketkvarattgörailänet.Därmedfinnsdetoftamöjlighetattgöraexamensarbeteellerpraktikpånågonavenheterna.StudentarbetenkankommatillstornyttaförLänsstyrelsensverksamhetochbidratillnaturvårdsarbetetilänet.ExempelpåtidigareexamensarbetenskrivnapåLänsstyrelsenfinnshär:

• Äruteblivnabränderiskogslandskapetenbidragandeorsaktilligenväxningavmyrmarker?• Deekonomiskakonsekvensernaavförekomstenavvildsvin(Susscrofa)iJönköpingslän• AnalysavnyafiskbeståndsomtillkommitgenomutsättningariJönköpingslän• UppföljningavlaxsmoltproduktioniVätternstillflöden• Analysavvattentemperaturerinomolikavattendragitvåavrinningsområden

Ärduintresseradochläserenrelevantutbildningönskarviattduhöravdigtillnågonavnaturavdelningensenhetscheferelleravdelningschefförattdiskuteravilkaprojektsomäraktuellaochsomduskullekunnabidratill.Dufårocksågärnakommamedegnaidéer!

- Fiskeenheten

[email protected]

- [email protected]

- EnhetenförnaturskyddochtillsynMalinLundmalin.lund@lansstyrelsen.se010-2236345

- Skö[email protected]

- VattenenhetenBernhardJaldemarkbernhard.jaldemark@lansstyrelsen.se010-2236403

- NaturavdelningenPerHallerstigper.hallerstig@lansstyrelsen.se010-2236202

Etturvalavexempelpåprojektdetinulägetfinnsbehovav:

• Friluftsliviskyddadeområden–Hurbegränsardemestvälbesöktanaturreservatensföreskrifterfriluftslivetochvilkaföreskrifterskulleinnebäramålkonflikteromdeupphävs?[Naturskyddochtillsyn]

• Utvecklingenpålandsbygden–Analyseraochsammanställasektorsövergripandetrenderpålandsbygdenpåettillustrativtsätt,somkanförmedlastillbeslutsfattareochstrateger/planerare.[Landenheten]

• E-DNAundervattensväxter–Undersökaome-DNAärenbrametodföratthittahotadeundervattensväxter.[Vattenenheten]

• Växthusgasbalanserirestaureradevåtmarker–Stämmerverklighetenmedteoriernaangåendeminskadekoldioxidutsläppnärvitmossaåterbörjarväxatill?Ochhurlångtidtardetisåfallinnanmankanbörjaseresultat?[Skötselenheten]

• Knäroturettartskyddperspektiv-Vilkenhänsynkräverknärotiochmedartskyddsförordningen?Vilkenrådgivninggesochvadhareffektenblivitavgenomfördaåtgärder?[Naturskyddochtillsyn]

PerHallerstig

Avdelningschef,NaturavdelningenLänsstyrelseniJönköpingslän

Studenter,obs!Tilldessaprojektbehöverenlämpliginternhandledareidentifieras.Seäveninfopåframsidan.

Ocean acidification

My laboratory, based at the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Infrastructure – Kristineberg, investigate the impact of global changes on marine species and ecosystems. We aim at better understand future environmental changes to be able to inform managers and policy makers.

The ocean provides a vital benefit to human society by absorbing one-fourth of all man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere, thus substantially limiting climate change. However, oceanic CO2 uptake comes with a cost. Known as the ‘other CO2 problem’, ocean acidification is a new and emerging challenge for sustainable development and ocean governance. In short, the term describes a series of chemical changes occurring when atmospheric CO2 dissolves in seawater, with potentially dire consequences for marine organisms, ecosystems and the services they provide. Over the last 15 years, we have been studying the consequences of this ocean acidification including questions such as:

ü How can we identify winners and losers? What species are able to cope with ocean acidification and what species are likely to be negatively impacted?

ü What are the physiological mechanisms allowing acclimation to ocean acidification? ü What are the transgenerational effects of ocean acidification? Is there enough genetic

variability to adapt to the changes to come? ü How does ocean acidification interact with other environmental changes? ü What will be the consequences of ocean acidification on Swedish seafood?

Do not hesitate to contact me if you are interested in joining our team and develop a research project.

Contact: [email protected]

Scandinavian bivalves — conservation status and interactions with invasive Pacif ic oysters

AneTimenesLaugen,UniversityofAgder&ÅsaStrand,IVLSwedishEnvironmentalInstitute

OurbivalveresearchgroupcanofferseveraltypesofprojectsinconservationbiologyforGU-students,bothatBSc-andMSc-level,

Possible topics (a non-exhaustive l ist) 1. PopulationcontrolandmanagementofPacificoystersthroughcommercialactivitiessuchas

harvestofwildpopulationsandpopulationmodeling2. EfficiencyoftheNorwegianeffortstoremovePacificoystersfrompopularbeaches3. InteractionsbetweenPacificoystersandnativebivalvesandrestorationtrialstoenhancenative

bivalvepopulations4. Literaturestudiestodeterminethebaselinesfordeterminingconservationstatusandfuture

managementactionstoprotectnativebluemusselsandEuropeanoysters5. ThegeographicrangeexpansionoftheinvasivePacificoysteranditseffectsonlocal

communitiesalongasalinitygradient6. DevelopmentofnewcultureprotocolsforbothnativebivalvesandPacificoystersusing

submergedculturesystems

Work place Someoftheprojectscanbecomputer-based(e.g.4)andcanthustakeplaceanywherewithfrequentcontactwithsupervisorsthroughemailandSkype.OtherprojectscanbebasedentirelyatSvenLovénCentreforMarineScienceatKristineberg(e.g.3,6).Asubstantialpartofthefield-basedprojects(e.g.1and2)takesplacearoundtheOslofjord(Bohuslän,Østfold,Vestfold,Agder),butsomeoftheprojects(e.g.5)willventurefurthersouthalongtheSwedishwestcoastandtheDanisharchipelago.Wehavefundstocoverfieldworkexpenses,butweencourageprospectivestudentstoapplyforscholarships.

Ourstudyorganisms—Pacificoysters(Magallanagigas),Europeanoyster(Ostreaedulis)andbluemussel(Mytilusedulis)

The group Wehavealong-standingcollaborationonScandinavianbivalvecommunitiesandhavealongtrack-recordonsupervisingstudentswithdifferentbackgroundsandinterests.Don’thesitatetocontactusforaninformaldiscussionaboutwhatwecanofferandtotailoraprojectthatsuitsyourinterests.

Contact ProfessorAneTimenesLaugenCentreforCoastalResearchUniversityofAgder,Kristiansand,[email protected].ÅsaStrandIVLSwedishEnvironmentalInstituteSvenLovénCentreforMarineScienceKristineberg,Fiskebäckskil,[email protected]

Left:Europeanoyster(Ostreaedulis)spatforpopulationrestorationtrials.Right:Experimentalsetupforbluemussel(Mytilusedulis)restorationtrials

Left:LookingforPacificoystersinSkåne.Right:PacificoysterreefinBohuslän

GGBC

Wewanttounderstandhowbiologicaldiversityhasevolvedandhowitwillbeaffectedbyon-going climate change and habitat destruction. The scope of our studies range from specificorganismgroupsinisolatedregionstoglobalcross-taxonomicpatterns.

Weattempttointegratedataandmethodologiesfrommolecularphylogenetics,palaeobiology,biogeography,climaticmodelling,bioinformaticsandecology.Ourworkhasshedfurtherlightontheevolutionofseveraltaxaandbiomesbutalotmoreremainstobedone.

1)Whyaresomeplantswoodybutnotothers?

Evolution,biogeography,macroecology

Woodyplants (treesand shrubs) cover30percentof theplanet's landareaandoffer crucialecosystemservices.Itisunclear,however,whysomeplantsarewoodyandothersherbaceous.As a first step to solve this evolutionary puzzle, our close collaborator, Dr. Frederic Lens(NaturalisBiodiversityCenter,TheNetherlands)hascreatedadatabaseofnearly7000derivedwoodyspeciesthathaveevolvedfromherbaceousrelatives.

Thisnoveldatabaseshowsthatmanyofthesewoodyspeciesoccurincontinentalregionswitha marked drought period, suggesting that drought may have triggered wood formation inhundreds of independent lineages. In addition to the drought link, a number of broad-scalequestions can be tackled, such as (1)When did derivedwoodiness evolve and is it linked with shifts in netdiversification rates (radiations or evolutionary dead-ends)?, and (2) Isderivedwoodinessadaptive to islands,potentiallyrelatedtoislandgigantism?

For this Masters project, we seek a motivated,independent student with a bio-informatics backgroundandfamiliarwithspatialanalysesandtheprogramR.Thework may involve travels to The Netherlands (Leiden) and Germany covered by thedepartment.

Contact:AlexandreAntonelli,[email protected];FredericLens,[email protected]

2.PatternsintheaccumulationofgeneticdataDiversity,evolution,spatialpatterns

Very few organism groups have genetic data for all oreven for a large fraction of the species and analyses ofdiversity patterns therefore have to make assumptionsabout the placement of the missing species. Forcomputationalconvenienceandduetolackofknowledgeit isgenerallyassumedthat theyareplacedrandomly inthe phylogeny even though there are good reasons toexpectthistobewrong.Inthisprojectwewishtoanalyzethe pattern of accumulation of genetic data among species to better understand whatdetermineswhatspecieshaveanddoesnothavegeneticdatainordertoenableresearcherstobetterincludethemissingspeciesintoevolutionaryorecologicalanalyses

For this master project familiarity with spatial analyses, with the program R and with basicbioinformaticsorphylogeneticsisdesiredbutnotrequired.

Contact:SørenFaurby,[email protected]

3.Co-extinctionofscavengersandpreyBirds,mammals,diversity,spatialpatterns

HighestspeciesrichnessofscavengingbridsiscurrentyfoundineastAfrica,justatthesameareawheremostofthelargemammalsoccur.Scavengingbirds,however,alsohaveseenamassiveextinctionintheLate-Pleistocne/Early-HoloceneandinparticulartheyusedtobehihglydiverseinNorthandSouthAmerica,feedingonthelikewisediversemammalianmegafaunacommunitythatusedtolivethere.Thegoalofthisprojectistoestimatehistoricrangesoftheextinctscavengingbirdsandcomparethesewithpreviouslyestimatedrangesfortheirmammalianprey.Afterthiswewillanalysethecorrelationbetweenthehistoricaldiversitiesofscavengingbirdsandpreyandcomparewiththecontemporarypatternforboth.Manyscavengingbirdsarehighlyendangeredandtheresultingknowledgemaybothimprovetheunderstandingofco-extinctionpatternsaswellashopefullyinformongoingconservationeffortstoavoidfutureextinctions.

Thisprojectwillbeconductedincollaborationwithandco-supervisedbypost-docFerranSayol.

ForthismasterprojectfamiliaritywithspatialanalysesandwiththeprogramRisdesiredbutnotrequired.


4.MismatchbetweenpollinatorsandplantsExtinction,islands,birds,pollination,plant-animalinteractions

Oceanicislandshaveseenverylargeextinctionrates,withasmuchas90%ofallextinctbirdsbeingislanddwellers.Asafunctionofthis,manyotherspeciesmaypotentiallysufferinthefuture,asinthecaseofredfloweredplants,whichgenerallyareexclusivelybirdpollinated.Thegoalofthisprojectistoidentifythefractionofplantspeciesonvariousoceanicislandsbeingred(andthereforelikelybirdpollinated)andcomparetheseratioswiththerecentdiversityofpollinatingbirdsaswellasestimatesofhistoricdiversitiesofbirdsonislands,whicharebeingestimatedbypost-docFerranSayol.Wewilltherebybeabletoidentifyislandswithadeficitofcurrentpollinators,whichthereforemaybeofparticularconservationconcern.

ThisprojectwillbeconductedinclosecollaborationwithislandbiologistManualSteinbauer(goo.gl/UEiG7T).



5.Humanalternationofthespecies-arearelationshipExtinction,invasivespecies,islands,ecologicalrules,birds

Asdiscussedabove,therehasbeensubstantialextinctionsofbirdsonislands,butatthesametimealargenumberofnon-nativespecieshasalsobeenintroducedtomanyislands.Thisprojectwillanalyzethecombinedeffectofthesetwoopposingfactorsandfocusonthespecies-arearelationship,whichisoneofthefundamentalpatternsofislandbiogeography.Morespecifically,thegoalistocomparetherelationshipbetweenislandareaandthenumberofbirdspeciesusingthreedifferentdatasets.1)Currentpatternincludingnon-nativespecies,2)Currentpatternonlyincludingnativespeciesand3)Estimatedpatternincludingcurrentandextinctnativebirds.

Thisprojectwillbeconductedincollaborationwithandco-supervisedbypost-docFerranSayolandinincollaborationwithbirdmacro-ecologistTimBlackburn(goo.gl/9LWXfk)



6.Globaldistributionofpalmspinescenceandmega-herbivores

Palms,animal-plantinteractions,macroecologyToquantifytheglobaldistributionofspinescenceinpalms(e.g.broad-scalepatternsofspeciesrichnessofpalmsthathavespines)andhowthisisrelatedtothecurrentandhistoricaldistributionofmega-herbivores.Manypalmsarearmed,oftenfiercely,withspines(asinAiphanesminima,picturedhere).Theselikelyevolvedasaresponsetomega-herbivoresasdefensestructures.Here,wewillask,whereareglobalhotpotsofspinescenceinpalms?Isthedistributionofspinescencerelatedtothedistributionofextantandextinctmammalianmega-herbivores?Forthismasterprojectinplantevolution,familiaritywithspatialanalysesandwiththeprogramRisdesiredbutnotrequired.Contact:ChristineBacon,[email protected]

7.Developingmodelsforrainforestevolution

Evolution,tropicalforest,diversitypatternsPalmshavebeenrecordedinthefossilhistoryoftropicalrainforestssincetheyfirstemerged(seeWingetal.2009,depictedbelow).Alongwithothermega-thermalangiosperms,thosethatarefrost-intolerantandhavephysiologicalrequirementsthatlargelyconstrainthemtotropicalenvironments,theyhavebeenproposedasmodelsforrainforestevolution.Inthisprojectweexplicitlytesttheideaofpalmsbeingmodelsfortropicalrainforestpresenceorabsenceataglobal-scale.Usingdatafromtransects,wetestwhethertheirdistributionmatchescurrenttropicalbiomesatvariousgeographicalscales.Forthismasterprojectinevolution/conservation,familiaritywithspatialanalysesandwiththeprogramRisdesiredbutnotrequired.

Contact:ChristineBacon,[email protected]

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