We are looking for an ambitious and motivated PhD candidate to support our team with the FWF project “Shedding light on the evolution of a blind cavefish” on Garra longipinnis, a cyprinid freshwater fish species from Northern Oman that comprises a troglomorphic, i.e. cave-adapted, population without eyes and pigmentation from an underground cave as well as a surface population.

G. longipinnis is an excellent model for studying cave fish evolution. In our current project, we aim to address the following questions:

1) Is genetic differentiation among cave and surface populations the result of adaptation to the cave environment or due to random fixation from genetic drift?

2) Are adaptive genetic changes the result of de-novo mutations or due to shifts in standing genetic variation?

3) Are troglomorphic characters the result of changes in protein structure of genes and/or due to regulatory changes modifying expression patterns?

 

To uncover the genomic basis of troglomorphic phenotypes, we will perform cutting edge analyses, that include de novo genome assemblies, population genomic analyses using comprehensive genome-wide data generated through Whole Genome Resequencing (WGR) and transcriptomics. We will compare large numbers of samples from both cave and surface populations of G. longipinnis, as well as from a population of a closely related surface species. You will be working in the DNA Lab as well as performing the bioinformatic analyses.

 

About the team:

You will be embedded in our “Garra working group” at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Central Research Laboratories) consisting of Luise Kruckenhauser (PI), Sandra Kirchner (Postdoc), Martin Kapun (Bioinformatician), Master students and the whole very nice team of the DNA Lab at the NHM.

As a PhD candidate you will be part of the Vienna Doctoral School of Evolution and Ecology (VDSEE; vds-ecology-evolution.univie.ac.at) and associated with the Department of Evolutionary Biology (Faculty of Life Sciences, University Vienna).

 

Your profile should ideally be:

You should be very interested in organismic biology and be fascinated by the mechanisms of evolution!

• good IT skills and basic experience in bioinformatic analyses (shell scripting, Python or R)

• wet-lab experience in a molecular genetic lab

• statistical analyses

• ability to work structured, organized and independently

• good time management skills

• basic experience in academic writing

• being a team player

 

How to apply:

• Curriculum vitae, highlighting your specific skills

• A letter of interest and an outline of your personal research interest

• List of scientific publications (if applicable)

• Confirmation of your Master’s Degree

• Contact addresses of 1-2 referees

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