PhD Studentship: Microbiome Dynamics and Pathogen Spread in Pollinator Species Networks - BBSRC SWBio DTP PhD studentship 2025 Entry

About:

The BBSRC-funded SWBio DTP involves a partnership of world-renown universities, research institutes and industry, based mainly across the South West and Wales.

This partnership has established international, national and regional scientific networks, and widely recognised research excellence and facilities.

We aim to provide you with outstanding interdisciplinary bioscience research training, underpinned by transformative technologies.

Project Description

Insect pollinators are crucial for agricultural sustainability, but the health and abundance of pollinators is in decline. It is increasingly clear that gut-associated microbial communities play a vital role in pollinator health, determining resistance to pathogens and shaping host nutrition. Previous work on pollinator microbiomes has tended to focus on single species, so that we lack a comprehensive understanding of how biological interactions among species shape microbiome structure and function. Understanding the complex relationships among pollinators, their microbiomes and the environment is also essential for understanding transmission routes of key parasites and pathogens that impact pollinator health. 

The project will use an interdisciplinary approach, integrating molecular estimates of pollinator microbiotas with ecological network data on species interactions. This will yield valuable insights into how heterogeneity in the frequency of intra- and interspecific interactions drives variation in microbiomes and subsequent pollinator health and resistance to pathogens.

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