Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MYCOBIOMICS (Joining forces to exploit the mycobiota of Asia, Africa and Europe for beneficial metabolites and potential biocontrol agents, using -OMICS techniques)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-04-01 bis 2023-09-30
The issue being addressed in this project is to exploit the hitherto untapped fungal organisms from different continents, study their biodiversity using state of the art technologies such as genomic, bioinformatics and analytical chemistry for beneficial and detrimental properties. Our consortium forms an international, interdisciplinary network composed of globally leading scientists in the above fields, which appears ideal to train the young generation of scientists, in order to tackle important challenges that are related to the aforementioned topics.
Due to big threat that is being posed by the worldwide increasing antimicrobial resistance, there is a great need for novel anti-infectives. Exemplified by penicillin, fungal metabolites have often been used as starting points for the development of new drugs.
Certain fungi can be developed into biological control agents that may replace hazardous agrochemicals and thereby contribute to a more sustainable agriculture. On the other hand, fungi also produce detrimental compounds like mycotoxins that are highly problematic because they accumulate in food and feeds. Our project is aimed at training of early stage researchers so they can characterize the respective organisms and monitor production of their metabolites.
Our work program also includes various interactions with local mycological associations in which we are conduction joint fieldwork and various dissemination activities that are also targeting the citizen scientists and the public.
The main objectives of this project can be summarized as follows
1. Establish a polythetic taxonomy of selected groups of Ascomycota (Hypocreales, Xylariales, Agaricomycetes)
2. Discovery of novel anti-infective secondary metabolites from fungi; in-depth biological characterization and development of sustainable processes for production of selected compounds
3. Studies on the production of mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites in the important ascomycete genera Fusarium (important pathogens!) and Trichoderma (important biocontrol agents and industrial enzyme producers)
4. Identification of biosynthesis gene clusters (BGC) encoding for secondary metabolites in all the above fungal groups
5. Functional analysis of the BGC and studies of their role in chemical ecology with respect to the potential of the producer organisms as biocontrol agents.
6. Demonstration of the respective techniques through secondments and training of young mycologists
7. Make the results of the work program available to a broad international audience, including various groups of stakeholders as well as the general public
The ER and ESR from EU countries are receiving training in methods and techniques that are not available in their home institutes. The consortium has access to genetic resources including endemic African and Asian fungi that are not available in the EU territory, and any result that leads to the development of a product will become the subject of joint exploitation by the project partners.
Due to big threat that is being posed by the worldwide increasing antimicrobial resistance, there is a great need for novel anti-infectives. Exemplified by penicillin, fungal metabolites have often been used as starting points for the development of new drugs.
Certain fungi can be developed into biological control agents that may replace hazardous agrochemicals and thereby contribute to a more sustainable agriculture. On the other hand, fungi also produce detrimental compounds like mycotoxins that are highly problematic because they accumulate in food and feeds. Our project is aimed at training of early stage researchers so they can characterize the respective organisms and monitor production of their metabolites.
Our work program also includes various interactions with local mycological associations in which we are conduction joint fieldwork and various dissemination activities that are also targeting the citizen scientists and the public.
The main objectives of this project can be summarized as follows
1. Establish a polythetic taxonomy of selected groups of Ascomycota (Hypocreales, Xylariales, Agaricomycetes)
2. Discovery of novel anti-infective secondary metabolites from fungi; in-depth biological characterization and development of sustainable processes for production of selected compounds
3. Studies on the production of mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites in the important ascomycete genera Fusarium (important pathogens!) and Trichoderma (important biocontrol agents and industrial enzyme producers)
4. Identification of biosynthesis gene clusters (BGC) encoding for secondary metabolites in all the above fungal groups
5. Functional analysis of the BGC and studies of their role in chemical ecology with respect to the potential of the producer organisms as biocontrol agents.
6. Demonstration of the respective techniques through secondments and training of young mycologists
7. Make the results of the work program available to a broad international audience, including various groups of stakeholders as well as the general public
The ER and ESR from EU countries are receiving training in methods and techniques that are not available in their home institutes. The consortium has access to genetic resources including endemic African and Asian fungi that are not available in the EU territory, and any result that leads to the development of a product will become the subject of joint exploitation by the project partners.
Due to initial travel restrictions and lockdown measures due to the COVID19 pandemics, the envisaged fieldwork and the academic exchange activities were substantially delayed during the first year of the reporting period. Therefore, the project needed to be extended by six months. However, meanwhile the consortium has caught up. Over 130 secondment months have been realized or are under way in the reporting period. Over 20 publications in peer-reviewed journals have already been published, mostly about new fungal taxa and their secondary metabolites, based on joint research efforts between the partners. In addition, MYCOBIOMICS participated in most of the important mycological conferences by arranging workshops and symposia, and over 70 lectures and posters were presented, mostly by the participating ESR and ER.
The project has already resulted in some valuable results like the clarification of the fungal phylogeny in certain groups using OMICS techniques and the discovery of novel bioactive compounds, some of which even represent unprecedented carbon skeletons. The partners and in particular the participating ESR and ER have started to collaborate very closely and teach each other about new techniques and methods, and there are already various other parties involved in the network. Therefore, it is highly likely that this project will lead to long term intercontinental collaborations. Moreover, it is possible that new evidence on the biosynthesis of rare unique fungal metabolites can be found until the end of the project. The development of biotechnological production processes is also envisaged for certain strains that are either interesting as producers of lead structures for development of new anti-infectives or as environmentally friendly biocontrol agents.