Research

We are interested in genetic processes in fungi. Often these organisms are seen as “magical” or “mysterious”, but in reality they are organisms much like any other. Using both classical genetics as well as advanced genomic methods, we aim to uncover the genetic mechanisms underlying many processes occurring in the fungal phyla.

Non-self recognition

One of the most fundamental processes that fungi undergo is hyphal fusion. As a fungus grows through its substrate, it encounters other hyphae. It must decide whether these hyphae come from itself, and are safe to fuse with, or come from other individuals, and so sustained fusion should not be allowed. This decision is effected by a set of polymorphic proteins, called het genes. When hyphae with different alleles of these proteins fuse, these different versions of the protein products interact, and trigger cell death.

Antifungal resistance

The filamentous human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus is known to be resistant to many clinical antifungal treatments in the triazole class. This resistance comes from selection in agricultural environments (and possibly others) that use similar chemicals, leading to an increase in resistant haplotypes. However, the chemicals used in agriculture are wider than simply triazoles, and we are rapidly becoming aware that this fungus is resistant to many different chemical classes. We are working on identifying the genetic basis of several of these resistance phenotypes, as well as the consequences for the organism of carrying these resistant haplotypes.