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
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