SKLMM Workshop：Fungal surface-active proteins unveil secrets of the tubular lifestyle, fitness, and speciation

Speaker: Professor Irina S. Druzhinina（Nanjing Agricultural University）

Date:  December 25, 2020🫸🏿，10:00-11:00

Location: Shuhua Multi-functional Hall

Brief Bio:

Irina S. Druzhinina is Professor at the Nanjing Agricultural University, she is a chair of the International Sub-commission on Trichoderma and Hypocrea of IUMS International Commission on Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF), member of steering committee of fungal barcode initiative and reviewer for national research funds in Australia, Belgium, Germany (DFG), Netherlands, Russia, Israel, and Kazakhstan. Prof. Druzhenina's articles have more than 8400 citations with over 140 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Prof. Druzhinina also serves as the editor of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, ASM.

Abstract:

The tubular structure of the fungal body requires surface hydrophobicity modulation because absorptive nutrition is efficient if the body is hydrophilic, while reproduction is usually performed by hydrophobic air‐dispersed spores. Therefore, the development of a fungal colony is accompanied by the secretion of various surface-active small secreted cysteine-rich proteins (saSSCPs) such as hydrophobins (HFBs), cerato-platanins (CPs), or others. Located outside the cell, saSSCPs self‐assemble at hydrophobic/hydrophilic interfaces, thereby changing the surface properties and mediating fungal interactions with the environment. Using the HFB and CP enriched molds Trichoderma (Hypocreales) and the saSSCPs-free yeast Pichia pastoris, we unveiled a multitude of novel and unexpected functions of these proteins in fungal lifecycle. In this talk, I will demonstrate that such saSSCPs as HFBs play a pivotal role in Trichoderma development, colony architecture, reproduction, and fitness.