Bart Thomma

University of Cologne’s CRC TRR 341 is recruiting for 10 PhD positions in plant ecological genetics , with projects spanning plant adaptation, genetics, ecology, biodiversity, soil microbiota, drought tolerance, evolutionary biology, population genomics, transcriptomics, GWAS, QTL mapping, and related molecular and computational approaches. The advertised projects include work on barley leaf area variation and competition effects, plant density responses and soil microbiota, local soil pH adaptation in Arabidopsis halleri , sulfur homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana , proteome plasticity under stress, ecological diversification in heterogeneous habitats, Scandinavian Arabis alpina , adaptive introgression in endangered Arabis species, ecological genetics of Hordeum murinum , and drought adaptation versus herbivory resistance in Brassica rapa . Supervisors and project leaders are based at the University of Cologne and partner institutions including Ruhr University Bochum, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Julius Kühn Institute, University of Potsdam, and University of Marburg. Eligibility highlights include interest or experience in genetics, ecology, plant biology, molecular biology, physiology, bioinformatics, field or greenhouse experimentation, and data analysis. Some projects specifically mention hydroponics, transcriptomics, biochemical and cell biological techniques, genome assembly/annotation, and machine learning. Project A02 requires applications through both the TRR 341 portal and the Julius Kühn Institute website. Deadline: 10 July 2026. How to apply: Select the project that best matches your background and submit your application through the TRR 341 application portal. For project A02, also apply via the Julius Kühn Institute website once the link is available. Contact the relevant project leader for informal enquiries or the TRR 341 office for general questions.

We are hiring a PhD student in plant ecological genetics at the University of Cologne as part of the large-scale research initiative TRR 341 / Plant Ecological Genetics . The advertised project (A07) focuses on the role of soil-associated microbiota in plant density responses . The research is centered on how plant competitive ability and crowding responses are shaped by belowground microbial communities, using diverse natural soils to study plant density effects, microbial contributions to competition, legacy effects, and plant–soil feedbacks. This opportunity is especially relevant for candidates interested in biology , environmental science , ecology , plant-microbe interactions , evolutionary microbiology , and Arabidopsis -related research. The post is supervised by Bart Thomma at the University of Cologne, with project details available on the lab website. The announcement states that 10 PhD positions are open across the consortium, and project A07 is one of them. The application deadline is 2026-07-10 . Applicants should review the project information and apply through the TRR 341 application route. Informal enquiries can be directed to the project leader by email.