Start: September 2023 or January 2024.
Lab: Molecular Identification Research Lab (MIRL), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Ottawa.
If interested, please contact: Dr. Leonardo Galindo González (MIRL head) – Leonardo.GalindoGonzalez@inspection.gc.ca
Project: Dissecting herbicide resistance in wild oat to design novel efficient molecular diagnostic tools with Dr. Owen Rowland as co-supervisor.
Wild oat is one of the most impactful weeds for the Canadian agricultural economy. Increasing herbicide resistance in this species affects management of the impacted crops. Both target site resistance (TSR) and non-target site resistance (NTSR) can be addressed using molecular and omic technologies. The MSc. student for this project is expected to study contrasting transcriptomic responses to herbicides in different wild oat populations to understand NTSR and find related molecular markers. Additionally, the student will test the relationship between TSR mutations in relationship to herbicide resistance in this species. Finally, the student is expected to develop a molecular diagnostic test(s) based on the differences in herbicide resistance found among wild oat populations.
Required skills: Knowledge in plant molecular biology and genomics.
Assets: Lab experience in in plant molecular biology (molecular diagnostics), genomics (high-throughput sequencing) and bioinformatics (transcriptomics/genomics).