The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the new Research Unit ‘Mechanisms of adaptation to the host niche in plant-colonising fungi’. The Unit will begin its work in November 2024 for four years. The approved sum amounts to a total of around three million euros (plus a 22 percent programme allowance for indirect costs), of which around 1.65 million euros will go to the University of Cologne. The universities of Bonn, Düsseldorf, Kiel and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are also part of the Research Unit. Professor Dr Gunther Döhlemann from the University of Cologne’s Institute for Plant Sciences is the group’s spokesperson.
The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the new Research Unit ‘Mechanisms of adaptation to the host niche in plant-colonising fungi’. The Unit will begin its work in November 2024 for four years. The approved sum amounts to a total of around three million euros (plus a 22 percent programme allowance for indirect costs), of which around 1.65 million euros will go to the University of Cologne. The universities of Bonn, Düsseldorf, Kiel and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are also part of the Research Unit. Professor Dr Gunther Döhlemann from the University of Cologne’s Institute for Plant Sciences is the group’s spokesperson.
Much is already known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions between host plants and the fungi that colonize them. However, little is known about how fungi adapt to a specific niche of their host plant – i.e. the part that the fungus colonizes.
The new Research Unit will investigate the mechanisms of niche adaptation of plant-colonizing fungi, in particular with regard to the competition between fungi and other types of microorganisms within the plant niche, using the crop plant barley as amodel system. The project uses fungi that cover the entire spectrum of possible plant interactions – from a parasitic disease to symbiotic colonization that benefits both organisms.
The group consists of leading experts with in-depth knowledge of the molecular interactions between plants and fungi as well as a leading expert in the development of biotechnological methods for barley. By combining the complementary expertise on the various fungi and their interactions with barley, the Unit aims to gain groundbreaking insights into the mechanisms of adaptation and defence of the colonized niche of fungi against competing microbes.
“We are very pleased about the DFG’s funding approval, which further strengthens the excellent status of our university in the field of plant sciences. It enables us to further develop a still young field of research with a strong team,” said Professor Döhlemann.
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