Scientific Programme

01 Abstract Book

02 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
Coffee break
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
Lunch and poster viewing
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
Coffee break
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
Welcome party

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
Coffee break
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
Lunch and poster viewing
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
Coffee break
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
Optional social gathering

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
Coffee break
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
Lunch and poster viewing
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
Coffee break
16:15 – 17:30

Key Note Lecture and Closing of the Conference

Nina Gunde-Cimerman: Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink

19:30
Conference Dinner

Join us at international conference on extremophilic fungi