Professor Axel Brakhage, scientific director of the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology in Jena (Germany) will speak about biologically active compounds produced during microbial interactions and how biotechnology tools allow us mastering their biosynthesis, in his keynote lecture for the session ‘Fungal applications: metabolites and enzymes’.

The sequencing of fungal genomes has revealed an unexpected high potential for secondary metabolite production. Most of these biosynthetic pathways are however inactive under laboratory conditions. The key question is how to activate those silent genes? The development of biotechnology tools to do that is closely related to understanding how the production of compounds is regulated in fungi. Aspergillus species are the model organism that Prof. Axel Brakhage uses most to study this regulation and find new strategies to ‘unlock’ the genes. For example, simulating the natural habitat by co-cultivation of microorganisms, like bacteria, from the same ecological niche, already led to the activation of silent gene clusters and the production of new compounds in Aspergillus nidulans. More about new advances in fungal secondary metabolism in Prof. Brakhage’s talk.

Keynote speaker of the session: ‘Human health: fungi on the move’ will be Matthew Fisher, professor of Fungal Disease Epidemiology at St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College London.

Matthew Fisher’s main interest lies in the biological and environmental factors driving emerging infectious disease. In this talk he will focus on the emergence of azole-resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus. New and unprecedented research points to the use of azoles in the environment as the main cause of resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus. ‘Azole resistance is a very recent problem, it only emerged in the 1990’s, around the time azoles were introduced in agriculture. Our research shows azole resistance evolved a very limited number of times, maybe only once, and after that it spread globally and very fast.’ Fisher has used genome sequencing of 600 isolates from all over the world in order to establish the source (or sources) of the resistance.

So far he has published only a small part of the research. At ‘Rise of the fungi’ he will uncover more of the outcomes from his research group. He will also discuss two promising new drugs and suspected hotspots of amplification of azole resistance such as the Dutch bulb industry.

“At the 50th International Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute is organizing a public evening about the emergence of novel and resistant fungi and its consequences for people and the environment. The public evening is the opening of the international scientific symposium "Rise of the Fungi". Three renowned scientists will talk about the emergence of new pathogenic fungi and resistance to antifungal agents. How should infections be fought in humans if fungi are resistant to the usual drugs? What are the prospects for developing new antifungal agents? Is there a solution to the global problem of the dying banana trees caused by mold? What impact does the introduction of fungi in new living environments have on the biodiversity of the amphibians present there? The lectures will be in English. The venue of the public evening will be the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (“KNAW”) in Amsterdam.”

Beauveria loeiensis ascomata on leaf-rolling cricket, Gryllacrididae, Orthoptera (Picture: Biotec, Thailand)

Going bananas

Prof.dr.ir. GHJ (Gert) Kema, Wageningen University, Wageningen

Going Bananas is the title of the second lecture of our public symposium. Bananas are a major food crop. In his lecture, Gert Kema will shed light on a disastrous disease in bananas: Fusarium Wilt of banana (FWB) or Panama disease, which is caused by a suite of soil-borne fungi that belong to the genus Fusarium. In the previous century FWB devastated Gros Michel banana plantations in Central America. Fortunately, another cultivar with resistance to the disease, the Cavendish banana, saved the industry.

Today, FWB threatens banana again. Cavendish bananas and many local varieties destined for domestic markets are decimated by a new Fusarium species, the so-called Tropical Race 4 (TR4). However, Cavendish bananas cannot be substituted with resistant varieties. They are not available and developing new varieties is complicated because all edible bananas are sterile and hence develop seedless fruits. This is the very reason why we can eat them, contrary to wild bananas whose pea-sized seeds fill-up the entire fruit. Hence, all edible bananas are propagated as clones. This makes banana crops genetically identical – so-called monocultures - and therefore vulnerable to a plethora of disease and pests.

Kema addresses in his lecture interesting and puzzling properties of Fusarium fungi causing FWB, how they spread across the globe and possible short and long-term ways to deal with the disease.

Sandra Garrigues giving a flashtalk (3min) at Asperfest (a satellite workshop at ECFG15) in Rome, Italy.

Ronnie Lubbers, PhD in de Fungal Physiology Research Group of Ronald P. de Vries, won a poster prize at the Asperfest satellite workshop at the ECFG15!