PhD Studentship: Microbiomes for Sustainable, Low-Input Agriculture

Primary supervisor - Dr Myriam Charpentier

Can we harness beneficial soil microorganisms to grow productive crops with less fertiliser?

Modern agriculture relies heavily on nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers, but their intensive use has significant economic and environmental costs. Plants naturally interact with diverse soil microorganisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that can improve nutrient acquisition, soil function and resilience. Understanding how crops recruit and interact with these beneficial microorganisms could therefore provide new opportunities for more sustainable agriculture.

Building on recent discoveries from our laboratory, the student will investigate how wheat genetics can be exploited to enhance beneficial interactions between crop roots, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and additional soil microbiome, and whether these tripartite interactions can improve crop performance under reduced-fertiliser conditions.

You will combine field experimentation, crop phenotyping, plant-microbe biology and microbiome approaches to investigate how wheat genotype and nutrient management influence beneficial microbial associations. You will assess crop performance and nutrient-use efficiency, characterise fungal and bacterial communities associated with roots, and identify microbial functions linked to improved crop performance under reduced-input conditions.

Based at the John Innes Centre, you will work within a collaborative research environment bringing together expertise in plant-microbe interactions, wheat genetics, crop physiology, field experimentation, microbiome science and microbial genomics across JIC, NIAB and the Earlham Institute.

This interdisciplinary PhD is ideal for a student interested in plant science, microbiology, crop genetics, bioinformatics or sustainable agriculture who wants to translate fundamental biological discoveries into approaches for reducing agricultural inputs while maintaining crop productivity.

This studentship offers the opportunity to undertake a 4-year PhD research project whilst enhancing professional development and research skills through a comprehensive training programme provided by the UKRI-BBSRC Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NRPDTP). You will join a vibrant community of world-leading researchers.

Our partners value diverse and inclusive work environments that are positive and supportive. Students are selected for admission without regard to gender, marital or civil partnership status, disability, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or social background.

Entry requirements

At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category).

Start date

1 October 2027

Mode of study

Full-time

Additional Funding Information

This project is awarded with a 4-year The Morley Agricultural Foundation (TMAF) PhD studentship. The studentship includes payment of Home level tuition fees (directly to the University), a stipend to cover living expenses (2026/7 stipend rate: £21,805), and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000 p.a. for each year of the studentship. This award is open to Home Fee Status applicants only.