Postdoc in Molecular Cell Biology

[MOORE]

Postdoctoral Position in Plant Cell biology.

A  twelve month postdoc position is available in the Department of Plant 
sciences University of Oxford to work with Dr. Ian Moore on the 
regulation of secretory traffic in plant cells.  The secrtory pathway is 
responsible for the biosynthesis and deposition of the major components 
of the cell wall, plasma membrane and vacuole.  The successful candidate 
will study the secretion of proteins and polysaccharides from transgenic 
suspension cultures that express dominant interfering mutants of plant 
Rab1 and Rab2 GTPases (Moore et al. 1996 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. in 
press, and  Moore et al.  (1993) J. Exp Bot. Sup 44 p183-195). These 
GTPases are key regulators of membrane traffic in eukaryotes (Staehelin 
and Moore 1995, Ann. Rev. Plant Phys. 46, 261-88) and are being used in 
mutant form to create conditional secretory mutants in plants. The 
expression of these Rab mutants is inducible by tetracycline application 
and this leads to cessation of growth. The objective of the work will be 
to test the hypothesis that the Rab mutants interfere with ER - Golgi 
traffic in plant cells and to investigate their effect on the 
biosynthetic activities of the plant Golgi apparatus.   The biochemical 
data obtained will be supported by ultrastructural studies of the 
endomembrane system in collaboration with Prof. Andrew Staehelin 
(University of Colorado), allowing the Rab-mutant phenotypes to be 
characterised in considerable detail.  This will provide the basis for 
studying the relationship between the plant ER and Golgi and the control 
of cell growth and of cell wall and endomembrane biogenesis.

Salary will be on the RS1A scale within the range 14,317 - 17,466 stlg 
(currently under review). Applicants should have a PhD and experience of 
biochemical or molecular biology techniques  and should send a 
curriculum vitae including the names, addresses, and e-mail addresses 
(if possible) of three referees to Dr. Ian Moore, Department of Plant 
Sciences, South Parks Rd., Oxford, OX1 3RB, United Kingdom, to arrive 
not later than 9 December 1996.