Suayb Üstün receives ERC Starting Grant to study the role of autophagy in plant-microbe interactions. Postdoc and PhD positions are available in 2021.
In September, Suayb Üstün received the ERC Starting Grants from the European Research Council (ERC) for his project DIVERSIPHAGY. The grant of up to 1.5 million euros is awarded for a period of five years. Suayb Üstün will investigate the role of regulated degradation and recycling processes in the interaction of plants and pathogenic microbes in the “DIVERSIPHAGY” project.
In the ERC project “Utilizing diversity to decipher the role of autophagy in plant-microbe interactions” (DIVERSIPHAGY), Üstün aims to elucidate the role of autophagy in the interaction between plants and microbes. Plants are constantly exposed to beneficial and pathogenic microbes. In order to obtain a comprehensive picture of the role of autophagy, it is necessary to include its diversity in the investigations. The picture becomes even more complex considering cell-type specific responses in host plants. DIVERSIPHAGY includes all organisms, processes and factors that influence autophagy in plant-microbe interaction. To this end, state-of-the-art technologies such as the analysis of the entire protein inventory of the cells, the so-called proteomes, all metabolic products, the metabolites, or even single-cell RNA sequencing technology will be used. Üstün intends to transfer the results to crops in order to generate resistance to bacterial pathogens.
The start of DIVERSIPHAGY will be in 2021. Stay tuned for job postings for postdoctoral researchers and PhD positions.