IUBMB Focused Meeting on Extremophilic fungi
19 – 22 September, 2023
Extreme environments are hostile to most life as we know it. Only a small selection of species have adapted to survive and thrive in some of the most extreme conditions on our planet. Research on extremophiles has traditionally been focused on prokaryotes, but this focus has been repeatedly challenged by the discovery of various fungi as part of the extreme microbiome. Despite their much more complex cell structure, fungi approach, and in some cases exceed, the stress tolerance of bacteria and archaea.
The study of fungi from various extreme environments, from arid and hypersaline to cold and acidic, attracts a vibrant and ever-growing scientific community. Although the topic is receiving increasing attention at some of the most prestigious international meetings, a dedicated international conference has been lacking.
The first international conference on extremophilic fungi will bring together world-renowned experts, young scientists, and students who explore the diversity, adaptations, and potential applications of extremophilic fungi, and help usher in the next era of extreme mycology.
01 Schedule
19 September —
Tuesday
9:00 – 9:30
Opening of the Conference
9:30 – 10:15
Key Note Lecture
Amy Gladfelter: Temperature adaptation of biological phase separation enables extremophilic lifestyles
10:15 – 11:00
1. Rock-Inhabiting Fungi
Session chairs: Lucia Muggia, Ramon Alberto Batista-García
10:15 – 10:45
Laura Selbmann: Rock Fungi: wired bodies, stunning potential
10:45 – 11:00
Martin Grube: Lichen partnerships: some notes about the most tolerant co-workers on earth
11:00 – 11:30
11:30 – 13:15
2. Fungi in low water activity environments
Session chairs: Lucia Muggia, Ramon Alberto Batista-García
11:30 – 12:00
Ramon Alberto Batista-García: Cellular responses of Aspergillus sydowii to kosmotropic growth at extreme concentration of NaCl
12:00 – 12:30
Michael Poulsen: Adaptations to life in deserts and with termites in the globally-distributed basidiomycete genus Podaxis
12:30 – 13:00
Samah Mohamed Rizk Soliman: Exploring the Surprising Biodiversity: Extremophilic Black Fungal Species from Archaeological Microhabitats in Desert Ecosystems
13:00 – 13:15
Bonnie K. Baxter: The Fungi of Great Salt Lake (Utah, USA): A survey of brine, minerals, petroleum, microbialites, and invertebrates
13:15 – 14:30
14:30 – 16:00
3. Fungi from Polar and Alpine Environments
Session chairs: Laura Selbmann, Steven Hanes
14:30 – 15:00
Teppo Rämä: Intertidal fungi in the Arctic
15:00 – 15:30
Steven Hanes: Phase separation as a mechanism for cold tolerance
15:30 – 15:45
Ciro Sannino: Deep Antarctic Permafrost Core: relationships between the abundance of the yeast genus Glaciozyma and elemental composition
15:45 – 16:00
Lucia Muggia: Diversity of extremophilic fungi in highly heterogeneous lichen mycobiome
16:00 – 16:30
16:30 – 18:00
4. Astrobiology and Fungal Dispersal
Session chairs: Bonnie K. Baxter, Jason E. Stajich
16:30 – 17:00
Kathleen C. Benison: How can fungi in extreme acid lakes and their salts inform us about possible life on Mars?
17:00 – 17:30
Chris Koon Ho Wong: Fungal conidia prepares for the future according to environmental conditions present before dormancy
17:30 – 17:45
Marta Filipa Simões: Mycogenic metal nanoparticles for in situ resource utilization in microgravity environments
17-45 – 18:00
Group Photography
18:00
20 September —
Wednesday
9:00 – 10:30
5. Interactions
Session chairs: Vania A. Vicente, Teppo Rämä
9:00 – 9:15
Victoria Keller: Genomes of 14 black fungal lineages isolated from rock-dwelling lichens – a resource for understanding fungal lifestyles and environmental adaptations
9:15 – 9:30
Danaé Bregnard: For better or for worse: co-habitation of the fungus Penicillium citrinum and the yeast Meyerozyma sp. in deep geothermal fluids
9:30 – 10:30
Poster Presentations and Flash Talks – part 1
10:30 – 11:00
11:00 – 13:00
6. Radiation, Acidity and Other Extreme Environments
Session chairs: Elisabet Aranda, Chris Koon Ho Wong
11:00 – 11:15
Michael J. Daly: The Role of Mn Antioxidants in Extremotolerant Fungi
11:15 – 11:30
Cene Gostinčar: On the dispersal of fungi between extreme environments
11:30 – 12:00
Janet Quinn: Antimicrobial warfare: bacterial-mediated fungal killing through the Type VI secretion system
12:00 – 12:15
Jens C. Frisvad: The Fungal production of specialized metabolites and proteins is depending on ecological strategy
12:15 – 12:30
Anna A. Gorbushina: Black fungi on technosphere surfaces: new niches for roof-inhabiting cousins
12:30 – 12:45
Anna Poli: The cultivable mycobiota of two karstic caves in Italy: undiscovered taxa and potential biotech applications
12:45 – 13:00
Lene Lange: Evolution, composition, and biomass degrading capacity of the digestive secretome of 14 halophilic fungi
13:00 – 14:30
14:30 – 16:00
6. Radiation, Acidity and Other Extreme Environments (cont.)
Session chairs: Anna A. Gorbushina, Jens C. Frisvad
14:30 – 15:00
Gustavo Goldman: The extreme of the non-extremophiles: Aspergillus fumigatus drug tolerance and persistence
15:00 – 15:30
Igor V. Grigoriev: Comparative genomics of thermophilic fungi
15:30 – 15:45
José Manuel Martínez: Fungal diversity and its geochemical role in the extreme acidic environment of Rio Tinto
15:45 – 16:00
Iris Cornet: Battle of extremophile Rhodotorula kratochvilovae strains for best process metrics in simultaneous detoxification and lipid production from steam explosion hydrolysate
16:00 – 16:30
16:30 – 17:00
16:30 – 16:45
Till Tiso: Exploiting the black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans for polymalic acid production
16:45 – 17:00
Ulrich Terpitz: Green-light sensors in extremophilic fungi
17:00 – 18:00
Poster Presentation Flash Talks – part 2
20:00
21 September —
Thursday
Scientific Excursion and Workshop
Departure from the conference location: 8:00
Return to Ljubljana city centre or conference location: around 20:00
Please consider bringing:
– non-slippery walking shoes
– warm clothes (cave temperature approx. 12 °C, small amount of water dripping from the ceiling)
– sun protection
– enough drinking water
– additional food (a lunch box will be provided)
Morning
Scientific Excursion to Carstic Caves
Afternoon
Workshop: Excursion and potential Sampling of Hypersaline Environment in Sečovlje Man-Made Solar Salterns
22 September —
Friday
9:00 – 11:00
7. Black Fungi
Session chairs: Julia Schumacher, Macit Ilkit
9:00 – 9:20
Sybren de Hoog: Evolution of opportunism in Chaetothyriales
9:20 – 9:40
Macit Ilkit: Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis
9:40 – 10:00
Vania A. Vicente: Omics analysis of Cladophialophora exuberance focusing its potential on bioremediation of hydrocarbon and heavy metal polluted habitats
10:00 – 10:15
Erin C. Carr: Melanin Excretion from the Novel Black Yeast Exophiala viscosa
10:15 – 10:30
Ilaria Catanzaro: Generation of Cryomyces antarcticus mutants to explore the importance of DHN melanin for survival
10:30 – 10:45
Nadine J. Schneckenleitner: Contribution of DHN melanin to survival and growth of Neoarthrinium moseri in extreme environments
10:45 – 11:00
Eileen A. Erdmann: In-vivo mutagenesis of the rock inhabitant Knufia petricola by a customized Ac/Ds transposon system
11:00 – 11:30
11:30 – 13:00
8. Omics and Molecular Tools for Extremophilic Fungi
Session chairs: Igor V. Grigoriev, Claudia Coleine
11:30 – 12:00
Jason E. Stajich: Genomic and Phenotypic variation in Rhodotorula species sampled from Extreme Environments
12:00 – 12:30
Julia Schumacher: Genetic engineering of black fungi: Lessons learned from Knufia petricola
12:30 – 12:45
Lara Vimercati: The genome of the polyextremophilic yeast, Naganishia friedmannii, reveals adaptations involved in stress response pathways, carbohydrate metabolism expansion, and limited DNA repair repertoire
12:45 – 14:30
14:30 – 16:00
9. Biotechnology and Bioremediation
Session chairs: Lene Lange, Gustavo Goldman
14:30 – 15:00
Nancy P. Keller: Isocyanides as Tools of Survival: Unveiling Fungal Strategies for Copper Starvation
15:00 – 15:30
Elisabet Aranda: Applications of isolated fungi for bioremediation purposes
15:30 – 15:45
Marianna Dourou: Non-conventional yeast: Investigating their potential for treatment of fish farm effluents and agro-industrial wastewaters
15:45 – 16:15
16:15 – 17:30
Key Note Lecture and Closing of the Conference
Nina Gunde-Cimerman: Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink