The cultivation of fungi under study in the UPV

2002/11/15 Agirre Ruiz de Arkaute, Aitziber - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Biokimika
• Mikrobiologia

A group of researchers from the Department of Applied Chemistry of the University of the Basque Country has just published in the journal Eukaryotic Cell the results of their work. The team leader Unai Ugalde and his colleagues have announced in this publication the work carried out in recent years on the cultivation of fungi. Proof of the importance of research is the mention made by the prestigious journal Science in the section Editors´choice of 1 November.

The group analyzes the cultivation of a fungus of the genus Penicillium.

In the laboratory of Ugalde has been identified and studied a molecule that has a great influence on the cultivation of fungi. Fungi grow everywhere, but still do not know what factors condition that growth. Fungi grow by hyfa, that is, by structures in the form of thread, forming and extending seeds (spores) in concrete circumstances. In this way, the fungi are dispersed at a great distance and ensure their reproduction. However, for sporulation to occur, the appropriate conditions in the environment must be given. For the reproduction of the fungus to be effective, the wind is essential for the dispersion of the spores, but also the nutrients, light, etc. Scientists have been trying to clarify these factors for years, but there was an important point to complete the puzzle.

This is what the team of Ugalde has just published, a new molecule that can act as a hormone: conidiogenone. One of the most important characteristics of this molecule is its efficacy in low concentrations. They are produced in quantities very inferior to the usual in living beings, so they have a great effectiveness. Eight years ago, Unai Ugalde's team proposed that fungi release a molecule that caused the onset of spores formation, but this molecule was unknown. Now, after years of research, this molecule has been identified and chemically analyzed.

This type of molecules can henceforth have important applications to control the growth of fungi. The study of the function of these molecules allows to obtain information that can serve both to cure diseases produced by fungi and for the industrial growth of them, so Ugalde has shown his intention to continue working around conidiogenone.