Master's degree project in genetic engineering
Available earliest April 1st 2018
We are looking for a highly motivated student who is interested in joining our group to optimize CRISPR-Cas9 system for knock-in modification of plant genes.
Short description
Most of the current plant molecular biology studies still rely on the use of crude genetic engineering tools that dramatically limit the capacity of our research. The recent advances in the use of CRISPR-Cas9 system for plants give very promising results that still require some significant modifications.
In this project we aim to optimize the CRISPR-Cas9 for precise knock-in modification of Arabidopsis genes and use the new tool to make reporter lines for detection of plant autophagy-related (ATG) genes activity.
Significance
This project, in general, will open up a broad range of new possibilities for investigating plant gene function and in particular, will make a significant contribution to our understanding of ATG-genes regulation.
Project goals
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Establish proof of concept constructs for knock-in modification of Arabidopsis thaliana genes in protoplasts
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Create a set of constructs for knock-in modification of genes important for regulation of autophagy in Arabidopsis thaliana
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Participate in establishing transgenic lines by knocking in green fluorescent protein and luciferases into Arabidopsis genome
You will acquire skills in
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Genetic engineering
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Use of CRISPR-Cas9 in plants
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Advanced DNA and protein molecular biology methods
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Advanced confocal microscopy
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Plant transformation
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Handling typical plant model organisms: Arabidopsis thaliana plants and tobacco cell cultures
An example of CRISPR-Cas9 driven knock-in. A stop codon of a gene in Arabidopsis genome is replaced with a DNA sequence encoding theGreen Fluorescent Protein (GFP). The resulting plant expresses a GFP fusion of the endogenous protein.