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We warmly invite you to attend an in-person Imperial Fungal Science Network Symposium hosted by Dr Claire E. Stanley, Imperial College London.  This symposium aims to explore novel techniques in bioengineering, biotechnology and synthetic biology for fungal science to promote further discussion and collaboration across the Network.  We are delighted to announce Prof. Pilar Junier University of Neuchatel, Switzerland (Laboratory of Microbiology) as our keynote speaker.  Drinks at the Flowers Building will be served following the event. 

Programme:

15:00-15:30         Prof. Pilar Junier (Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel)

Bacterial-fungal interactions: from fundamental biology to applications

Bacteria-fungi interactions (BFI) are essential for ecosystem functioning, but many aspects of the biology of these interactions are still unknown. For instance, how and why bacteria and fungi associate in nature is not fully understood. Likewise, the fact that bacteria live in close association with a fungal host, constituting the fungal bacteriome, is still under-appreciated. We have established a number of new methods (from bioinformatic screenings to culturomics) to study the impact of fungal-associated bacteria on the physiology of BF partnerships and that will be presented here. Moreover, BFIs have also consequences on the use of bacteria and fungi in biotechnology, as these interactions affect the behaviour, physiology, and ecology of both partners. In this presentation, a concrete example using the problem of fungal pathogens will be developed. Fungal infections represent one of the most important threats to human and animal health as well as to food security. Timely diagnosis of fungal infections is often difficult, resulting in many cases in the preventive use of prophylactic treatments, both in agriculture and medicine. In addition, the existing arsenal of antifungal drugs is limited and the effectiveness of the current antifungal therapies has plateaued, particularly due to the emergence and spread of resistance towards these drugs. Identifying relevant BFI resulting in the control of fungal pathogens is one of the alternative approaches that could contribute to finding alternative treatments to the threat posed by fungal pathogens.

15:30-15:50         Prof. Tom Ellis (Dept of Bioengineering, ICL)

Towards modular synthetic genomes in yeast

15:50-16:10         Mr Felix Richter (Stanley Lab, Dept of Bioengineering, ICL)

Spores-on-a-Chip: Investigations on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi using novel microfluidic technology

16:10-15:30         Dr Young-Kyoung Park (Ledesma-Amaro Lab, Dept of Bioengineering, ICL)

Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology in Yarrowia lipolytica

 

15:30-15:50        Dr Emily Masters-Clark (Stanley Lab, Dept of Bioengineering, ICL)

Fungal highways in microfluidics

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