Master Thesis “Role of Wheat Microbiomes to mitigate drought stress”(m/w/x)

Our **Center for Health & Bioresources** invites applications for a **Master Thesis** for our location in **Tulln (in immediate vicinity to Vienna)**. In the **Center for Health & Bioresources** we aim to solve challenges associated with demographic change, resource scarcity and environmental pollution and to develop innovative solutions, that enable early disease detection and support healthy and active aging. As part of our team in the **Bioresources** Unit, you will support us within our research project on the role of wheat-associated microbiomes to improve drought stress resilience. Wheat is a highly important crop and a valued part of the human diet. However, drought periods, projected to increase due to climate change, pose a major risk to crop yields. One promising strategy to improve drought resilience in wheat is the application of microbiome-based improvement of the plant stress resilience: **Aufgabenbereich / IMAGINE** * The main goal of this master’s thesis is to **characterise microbial communities and test individual strains** for their ability to colonise roots and enhance wheat drought tolerance. * Under the guidance of our team, you will **conduct molecular characterisation** using various in vitro assays and molecular tools. * You will perform plant experiments and analyse microbial communities and plant phenotype characteristics (root morphology traits, fresh and dry weight). * You will **learn to evaluate experimental** results and **apply them to further studies** and potential real-world agricultural applications. **Qualifikationen / ENGAGE** * You will **broaden your skills** in the fields of microbiology, molecular biology, and plant phenotyping. * You will **expand your knowledge of plant–microbe interactions**, plant water relations, and microbial ecology. * You will **train in scientific work and critical thinking** and have the opportunity to **discuss your findings with interdisciplinary experts** in plant sciences and microbiome research. * Depending on your interests, you will be introduced to bioinformatic analysis of sequence data. **Angebot / ACHIEVE** **Your qualifications as an Ingenious Partner:** * Ongoing master's studies in the field of Biotechnology, Microbiology, Phytomedicine, Plant sciences or similar * Good knowledge in microbiology techniques, molecular biology techniques, plant biology are highly valued * Enthusiasm for science in general and scientific inference * Interest in application-oriented questions for agriculture * High level of commitment and team spirit * Good knowledge of English and/or German in word and writing **Zusatzinformationen (manuelle Eingabe)** --- **What to expect:** * **Duration of the master’s thesis project:** 6 months * **Start date:**10.2025 – However there is some flexibility concerning the start-date * EUR 1.349,60 gross per month for 20 hours/week based on the collective agreement. There will be additional company benefits. As a research institution, we are familiar with the supervision and execution of master theses, and we are looking forward to supporting you accordingly! --- At AIT diversity and inclusion are of great importance. This is why we strive to inspire women to join our teams in the field of technology. We welcome applications from women, who will be given preference in case of equal qualifications after taking into account all relevant facts and circumstances of all applications.