General information
Chemical communication is the oldest means of information exchange among organisms. It became the dominant communication channel in insects, especially in complex societies of social insects, such as bees, ants, wasps, and termites. Our group is interested in various aspects of chemical communication of termites, ranging from determination of pheromone chemical identities and biological functions to studies on their biosynthetic and evolutionary origin.
The proposed project aims at the discovery of enzymes responsible for the production of terpenes, used by the termites as pheromones and defensive compounds. Even though the terpenoids are widespread natural compounds and occur in a variety of structures and functions also in many insects, their biosynthesis in insects remains understudied. The project combines the techniques of biochemistry, molecular biology, bioinformatics and analytical chemistry and its ultimate goal is to understand the evolution of the biosynthetic apparatus of terpenoids in termites.
We are looking for a candidate with background in natural sciences, willing to become a part of our team for 6 months, or possibly longer, with a flexible starting date. The intern will fully participate in all steps of the workflow from gene identification to functional characterization of the candidate biosynthetic enzymes. In doing so, the intern can obtain expertise in multiple disciplines and benefit from learning how to handle the fleet of analytical instruments in our laboratory. An inherent additional benefit of the stay will be the location of our institute in the center of the beautiful city of Prague.
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