PhD project: Dissection of the usage and function of unique genome architecture encoded by Burkholderia phage Matilda.

A recently isolated jumbo phage that targets the lung pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia, φMatilda, exhibits a unique genome architecture. The genome of φMatilda encodes two distinct large bidirectional elements at the genome termini, both of which predominately encode hypothetical proteins.

This project aims to determine the function and importance of these terminal elements during infection, and to establish whether the inverted repeats drive a physical rearrangement of the phage chromosome during infection.

Application deadline: 5 October 2026. Start date: 4 January 2027.

Via Jessica Lewis — original studentship post.