A PhD student position in evolutionary microbiology, with focus on the evolution of intracellular bacteria, is available in my lab at Uppsala University, Sweden. The position is fully funded for four years. Last day to apply: 29 October 2026 Start: November 2026–March 2027 Apply at: https://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/join-us/jobs-and-vacancies/job-details?query=974072 Project description The ability to feed on other organisms through phagocytosis is a crucial step in the evolution of eukaryotes, a prerequisite for food webs, multicellularity and probably the acquisition of mitochondria. It also paved the way for intracellular parasitism, as some bacteria avoided digestion by their hosts and multiplied in the nutrient-rich cytoplasm. Here, we focus on the Deep-branching Intracellular Gammaproteobacteria (DIG), a large group of related bacteria (e.g. Legionella and Francisella) with a wide variety of host-adaptation strategies. We hypothesize that the last common ancestor of DIG appeared during eukaryogenesis, 2 billion years ago, and was among the first bacteria to infect eukaryotes. In this project, the PhD student will gather a solid set of DIG genomes, including isolates belonging to 30 novel species of Legionella, reconstruct their evolutionary history, assess their metabolic potential, and identify their host-adaptation genes. They will screen genomes for horizontal gene transfers from early eukaryotes or Asgard archaea and specifically analyse the evolution of the Legionella genus. A better understanding of the relationships between the first eukaryotes and their early invaders will shed light on eukaryogenesis, and particularly on the role of phagocytosis. Qualifications Required qualifications: - A Master’s degree or equivalent (240 ECTS credits) in bioinformatics, molecular biology, microbiology, microbial ecology or a similar field. The degree should be completed, or expected to be completed, before March 2027. - Documented coding skills in Python or R - Experience in using and/or developing methods in metagenomics and molecular evolution - Background understanding of, and interest in, microbial evolution - Proficiency in spoken and written English - Ability to plan, carry out and complete research projects independently - Creativity and good teamwork skills Desirable qualifications: - Experience of building pipelines for high-performance computing (HPC) clusters - Competence in handling large datasets - Experience with DNA extraction and sequencing library preparation For further details, please contact Lionel Guy, lionel.guy@imbim.uu.se Apply at: https://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/join-us/jobs-and-vacancies/job-details?query=974072 Last day to apply: 29 October 2026 Start: November 2026–March 2027 (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to evoldir@evoldir.net)