First Indo-German 2+2 Project in Biotechnology:
Nanochitosan in Plant Protection
In the Nanochitosan project (financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF and its Indian counterpart, the Department of Biotechnology DBT), four research teams from Indian and German Universities and Industries will collaborate to explore the potential of copper-loaded chitosan nanoparticles in combination with microbial bio-control agents to protect crop plants from disease. We will in particular target diseases caused by oomycetes such as Phytophthora and Peronospora, e.g. on grapes or potato, and on Trichoderma BCA strains. The team at WWU-IBBP will produce and characterise a broad range of chitosan polymers which we will use for the production of nanoparticles which in turn we will load with various advanced copper compounds. Chemical and enzymological techniques will be used and further optimised for the generation and characterisation of the chitosans and their oligomeric degradation products when treated with chitosan hydrolysing enzymes of Trichoderma. The chitosan polymers, nanoparticles, and oligomers will be analysed for their biological activities towards oomycete pathogens and their host plants.
In the framework of the Nanochitosan project, we seek to recruit one post-doctoral researcher to strengthen our team of molecular biologists, microbiologists, and biochemists. The candidate should have a strong background in the analysis of polysaccharides (e.g. MS, SEC-MALLS, NMR) and, preferably, of their nanoparticles (e.g. zetasizer, EM, AFM) or their interaction as polyelectrolytes with ions (e.g. ion speciation, AAS)
We are also seeking to recruit one research technician to support our team in the further development and routine performance of bio-assays to quantitate the antimicrobial and plant strengthening activities of chitosans. The candidate should have experience in microbiological and plant cell culture techniques.
Finally, we are seeking one doctoral student to support our team by persuing a project of her/his own design within the framework of the Nanochitosan project. Such a project can deal with any of the aspects described above, and it can have a more chemically or more biologically oriented focus, depending on the background of the candidate. The candidate will have the option to apply for membership in the first Indo-German International Research Training Group on Molecular and Cellular Glyco-Sciences (MCGS), involving a minimum of six months research stay in a partner lab in Hyderabad.