Projekte

CHEMICAL CROSS-TALK IN MYCOPARASITIC INTERACTIONS (CHEM-TALK)

 

 

Funding: FWF

PI: Susanne Zeilinger

This research project explores how the plant-beneficial fungus Trichoderma atroviride and the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea (grey mold disease) interact with each other by exchanging chemical signals. These signals, called specialized metabolites, are small molecules that fungi use to communicate, defend themselves, or attack others. The goal is to understand how these chemical signals work and to discover new ones that could be useful for agriculture or medicine. Fungi produce many useful compounds, like antibiotics, but they don’t always make these compounds in the lab. To encourage both fungi to produce these hidden chemicals, they are cultivated together, mimicking their natural environment and it is tested how specific chemicals from one fungus affect the other. By doing this, we want to uncover new compounds and understand how fungi "talk" to each other.

We recently found that the amount and type of chemicals produced by T. atroviride depend on light conditions. Growing the fungus in reduced light or darkness increased the production of certain useful compounds, including 6-pentyl-α-pyrone (6-PP), which has antifungal and plant growth-promoting properties. We further discovered the specific gene (pks1) responsible for 6-PP biosynthesis. When pks1 was removed, T. atroviride stopped producing 6-PP and became less effective at fighting B. cinerea. The phytopathogen B. cinerea was shown to break down 6-PP produced by T. atroviride and to use it for its own energy revealing that fungi not only produce chemical signals but also respond to and metabolize the signals from others, creating a complex chemical "conversation."

This research helps us understand how fungi interact and compete in nature. In future, it could lead to better crop protection by improving the plant-beneficial effects of T. atroviride, a natural way to fight plant diseases caused by B. cinerea. Applying such biocontrol agents is a sustainable approach for managing plant diseases without relying on harmful chemicals. In addition, the obtained results may pave to way to finding new chemicals with potential uses in agriculture, medicine, or industry.

 

 

Projektpartner:

Assoc. Prof. Martina Marchetti-Deschmann, Inst. für Chemische Technologien und Analytik, TU-Wien

A.o. Univ. Prof. Rainer Schuhmacher, Interuniversitäres Department für Agrobiotechnologie, IFA-Tulln, Univ. für Bodenkultur, Wien

 

Relevant publications:

Flatschacher D., Eschlböck A., Pierson S., Schreiner U., Stock V., Schiller A., Ruso D., Doppler M., Ruszanyi V., Gründlinger M., Büschl C., Schuhmacher R., Zeilinger S. (2025). Linking a polyketide synthase gene clustert o 6-pentyl-alpha-pyrone, a Trichoderma metabolite with diverse bioactivities. Microbial Cell Factories 24(1): 89. DOI: 10.1186/s12934-025-02718-9.

Missbach K., Flatschacher D., Bueschl C., Samson J., Leibetseder S., Marchetti-Deschmann M., Zeilinger S., Schuhmacher R. (2023). Light-Induced Changes in Secondary Metabolite Production of Trichoderma atroviride. Journal of Fungi 9(8): 785. DOI: 10.3390/jof9080785.

Moreno-Ruiz D, Fuchs A, Missbach K, Schuhmacher R, Zeilinger S. (2020). Influence of different light regimes on the mycoparasitic activity and 6-pentyl-alpha-pyrone biosynthesis in two strains of Trichoderma atroviride. Pathogens 9(10): 860. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9100860.