untangling

What make the yeast go round? Vienna, Austria. While most fungi grow as a network of thin threads (hyphae), yeasts have a spherical shape and grow as individual cells (unicellular). Some special fungi can grow both as connected hyphae and unicellular. These so-called yeast-like fungi switch between those two forms depending on the surroundings. This switch influences several properties such as stress resistance and the production of valuable substances. In a new project, a young science team researches how exactly the yeast-like fungi can switch between the two forms. Fungi of the genus Aureobasidium can be found on the leaves and fruits of several plants around the globe, but also in extreme environments such as glacial and polar ice, salt lakes, and even on old plastics. These fungi can be used as biocontrol agents, this means, they populate plants and protect them from harmful bacteria and molds. Aurebasidium species also produce some valuable substance, such as antibiotics or different polymers that might be alternatives for artificial plastics. Notably, the cell shape plays an important role during the applications in agriculture and industry. Aurebasidium fungi are yeast-like fungi and can switch between unicellular growth and growth as hyphae. In a new project, a young science team under the lead of Christian Derntl, wants to find out how exactly these fungi are switching between these two forms. The scientists are interested in the regulatory mechanisms, gene, and proteins involved in the morphological switch. The team expects new findings about the basic biology of these fungi and leads to improve the application potential in agriculture and industry. Contact: Christian Derntl, christian.derntl@tuwien.ac.at