Seminar of the Department of Microbiology

Also fungi have a choice: what to eat and whom to meet? - Novel tools for studying fungal decisions

 

Philipp Benz – Professor – Technische Universität München

15.05.2025, 11:00 - Hybrid

  • Join online
  • or in presence: Seminarraum Biologie - Foyer (Technikerstraße 25, Viktor-Franz-Hess Haus, Parterre).

 

 Abstract

Philipp Benz

Even though hardly visible, fungi play a critical role in our environment as major recyclers of organic matter. The saprotrophic species destruct dead, organic material that is produced when animal and predominantly plant organisms die. They penetrate this biomass with their fungal hyphae and decompose the complex carbohydrates with the help of an enormous variety of enzymes, which they secrete into their environment. This way, natural biomass, such as dead wood, straw or biowaste, are recycled and turned into fertile soil. Therefore, fungi are an indispensable part of the global carbon flux and we investigate the biochemical and molecular genetic mechanisms underlying these processes.

In addition to their role as decomposers, fungi also make an indispensable contribution to the healthy growth of land plants. Some fungal species can increase water uptake and the bioavailability of nutrients in the soil or protect plants against pathogens. In our group, we investigate the biochemical mechanisms of communication between fungi and plants or between fungi and fungi in the rhizosphere.

In the talk, Prof. Benz will give two examples from the research in his lab in these areas, introducing novel tools developed by his group to study 1) the choice processes underlying carbohydrate preferences based on the conserved process of carbon catabolite repression, and 2) the ability of plant growth-promoting biocontrol fungi to distinguish between friend or foe within their vicinity.

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