Autophagy in Fungal Hyphae - Functional Genomic and Mechanical Strength Studies

University Of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

Marten 0519080 Autophagy (literally 'self-eating') has recently emerged as an important topic in biology, as it plays a key role in cellular development, aging, numerous human diseases and survival during nutrient limitation. Also called type II programmed cell death, autophagy involves recycling of cellular macromolecules and even whole organelles. Most of the molecular components involved have been identified and are highly conserved in species ranging from yeast to man. While autophagy has been studied in several model organisms, almost no information is available on autophagy in filamentous fungi. This is somewhat surprising, as the impact of filamentous fungi on human activity is enormous. While pathogenic fungi are responsible for numerous deaths and billions of dollars in crop damage each year, fungi used in the bioprocessing industry produce billions of dollars in beneficial products annually. Notably, in each of these cases, autophagy appears to play a prominent role. Not only is autophagy likely to be a fundamental response to nutrient limitation, it is hypothesized in this proposal that autophagy is also a normal, developmentally related phenomenon in filamentous fungi that occurs in nutrient rich conditions. Thus, autophagy is likely to have a significant impact on most of the fungal processes related to man. The broad goal of this proposal is to develop a fundamental understanding of both molecular and cellular level phenomena associated with filamentous fungal autophagy. The function of specific genes, hypothesized to play a role in initiation and regulation of autophagy, will be studied. Because autophagy is likely to be an integral aspect of all fungal processes that affect humans, the fundamental understanding developed here is likely to have broad application. For example, novel components or effectors of the autophagy pathway may represent attractive candidates for the design of antifungal therapeutics. Furthermore, insight into mechanisms that suppress autophagy (either partially or completely) in bioprocesses may lead to increased productivity of secondary metabolites. In both cases, the financial impact would be enormous (billions$/yr). This research will also have broad impact on human capital. PhD level graduate students will conduct research in a cross-disciplinary environment and will be trained in cutting edge techniques. Undergraduates will also be involved in all aspects of the research. In addition, research described here will be incorporated in secondary level outreach modules, enhancing learning for both undergraduates and secondary level students.