Seminar of the Department of Microbiology

Serpula lacrymans: Wood degradation and mycobiome interactions throughout the degradation process of different strains

Katharina Russ – PhD Candidate - UIBK - Microbiology Mycology - AG Neuhauser

27.06.2024, 11:00 - Hybrid

• Join online
• or in presence: Seminarraum Biologie - Foyer (Technikerstraße 25, EG)

 

Abstract

In my PhD I am working with one of the most effective brown-rot causing fungi namely Serpula lacrymans, which colonizes houses in temperate and boreal regions all over the world. In building construction, a house infested with S. lacrymans is quite feared, as the removal is very expensive and laborious and has to be done according to official guidelines. S. lacrymans spreads very quickly in the houses through vegetative mycelium and through the formation of mycelial cords, which are responsible for the transport of nutrients. As soon as the fungus has established itself on built timber, it begins to degrade cellulose and hemicellulose. 
The aim of my PhD is to get a better understanding in the sexual diversity in Austrian Serpula lacrymans strains and also to test the biodegradation capacity of them. Furthermore, we want to identify CAZymes from Serpula lacrymans associated bacteria and quantify lignin- and cellulose-degrading gene expression in bacteria during biopolymer degradation and co-cultivation with S. lacrymans. 
In my talk I will give you an insight into my research, some results, experimental setup and what my future experiments are.