Scholarship International

PhD Scholarship New Zealand

Two PhD positions are available in the project “Do marine fishes break the rules of hindgut fermentation?” This project is supported by the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and is due to commence in early 2010. The students will be based in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland.

Symbiotic microorganisms in the hindgut play a critical role in the nutrition of humans and other vertebrates. Until recently these microorganisms were not thought to supply protein directly to host animals, but this has now been demonstrated in some domesticated mammals. However, the mechanism is unknown. We will use a multidisciplinary approach to examine the uptake of protein from symbiotic microorganisms in the hindgut of marine herbivorous fishes, in which we have identified potential mechanisms for this process. We will examine nitrogen recycling and protein synthesis by the gut microflora by molecular and labelling methods, and use stable isotopes and other biomarkers to determine the relative contribution that dietary and symbiont sources of protein make to host fish nutrition.

The projects will be supervised by Assoc. Prof. Kendall Clements (School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland), Prof. Esther Angert (Microbiology Department, Cornell University), and Dr Lindsey White (School of Applied Sciences, Auckland University of Technology). One of the students will focus on microbial processes, and the other on nutritional analyses and histological work. The former of these students will learn a variety of techniques during a planned two-month visit during the first year to the Microbiology Department at Cornell University. Both projects will involve extensive marine fieldwork in New Zealand and on the Great Barrier Reef.

Interested applicants should contact Assoc. Prof. Kendall Clements (k.clements@auckland.ac.nz) for more details.

Closing date: 15 December 2009

DR. W. LINDSEY WHITE |ASSOCIATE HEAD OF SCHOOL| SCHOOL OF APPLIED SCIENCES | AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY  | WL108, 31 SYMONDS ST | MAILBOX C-43 PRIVATE BAG 92006 | AUCKLAND 1142 | PHONE: + 64 9 921 9999 EXT. 8065 | MOBILE: + 64 21 2325682 | FAX: +64 9 921 9743 | EMAIL:  lwhite@aut.ac.nz

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