We are thrilled to announce the upcoming Molecular Biology of Fungi Symposium, taking place from September 9-11, 2026, at the Audimax in Braunschweig. This biennial conference, jointly organized by the VAAM specialist group “Biology and Biotechnology of Fungi” and the Gen-AG “Fungal Genetics” of the Society for Genetics, brings together leading researchers and early-career scientists from molecular biology, genetics, biotechnology, and ecology.
The symposium offers a vibrant platform for discussing the latest advances in fungal research - from genomics and systems biology to fungal interactions, pathogenicity, biotechnology, and ecosystem processes. Attendees will have the opportunity to present new findings, network with peers, foster international collaborations, and help shape the future of fungal research in Germany.
Tickets are now available!
https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/ifg/arbeitsgruppen/pilzgenetik/conference-2026
We look forward to seeing you in Braunschweig!
We were very happy to welcome David Hernandez Hernandez to the Fleißner group at the Institute of Genetics, TU Braunschweig.
During his visit, he presented his talk “Understanding Botryosphaeriaceae in avocado: from symptoms to species”, highlighting their diversity and impact in the unique ecosystem of Tenerife.
It was a lot of fun discussing these topics. We thank David for the great exchange!
The fungal plasma membrane is a prime target for antifungals like polyenes and saponins, which disrupt membrane integrity by binding to ergosterol. In response, cells deploy Ca²⁺-binding penta-EF-hand proteins, such as Pef1—the Candida albicans ortholog of human ALG-2—to maintain membrane stability. Our new study shows that GFP-tagged Pef1 localizes to sites of polarized growth in yeast and hyphal cells. Upon treatment with membrane-disrupting agents Pef1 relocates to punctate membrane spots, a pattern also observed when calcineurin A (Cna1) is lost. While pef1Δ mutants show only mild growth defects, their hyphae fail to maintain membrane integrity in serum and display reduced virulence in infection models. These findings highlight Pef1’s critical role in preserving membrane integrity during polarized growth, septum formation, and antifungal stress-offering new insights for combating drug resistance in this major human pathogen.
Read the full paper here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41920808/
Cell fusion is crucial for the development of eukaryotic organisms, including the fungus Neurospora crassa. While the MAP kinase MAK-2 and the protein SO are known to regulate fusion, what triggers the onset of intercellular communication remains unclear. Our new study identifies EOP-1 as a key interaction partner of SO and reveals its essential role in cell communication and fusion. Deletion of eop-1 disrupts germling fusion and chemotropic interactions. Live-cell imaging shows that EOP-1 oscillates at cell tips, even in individual germlings without interaction partner, suggesting cell-autonomous oscillatory behavior, a first for N. crassa. EOP-1’s recruitment depends on SO, MAK-1, MAK-2, BEM1, and HAM-14, and its loss reduces MAK-1 phosphorylation, placing EOP-1 upstream in the signaling pathway. This work provides new insights into how genetically identical cells initiate and coordinate communication and mutual attraction.
Read the full paper here: https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1012087
We are delighted to share that Prof. Bernard Slippers has been awarded the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Research Award. He was nominated by Prof. André Fleißner in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field.
As part of the award, Prof. Bernard Slippers will spend a total of six months in Germany, where he will collaborate closely with Prof. André Fleißner and his group on joint research projects at the Institute of Genetics. This stay will provide an excellent opportunity to deepen existing collaborations and develop new research directions.
We warmly congratulate Prof. Bernard Slippers on this achievement and very much look forward to welcoming him to Braunschweig for a productive and inspiring research exchange.
We are thrilled to introduce Felicia (“Feli”) Förster, our new bachelor student, who will support PhD candidate Sofie in her research. Feli will investigate various Filobasidium species previously isolated from strawberry orchards by Sofie. Her work will explore different characteristics of the genus, including potential mycoparasitism. We are all eager to see Feli’s findings and look forward to working together in the lab!
We are delighted to welcome Lycia Baille to our research group for a three-month stay, from April to June 2026. Lycia joins us from the Laboratoire de Biodiversité Biotechnologie Fongique - INRAE, France, where she is pursuing her PhD on cysteine-based redox regulation and its implications for the production of carbohydrate-active enzymes in the model fungus Neurospora crassa. During her time with us, Lycia will focus on mastering the genetic manipulation techniques essential for working with Neurospora crassa. We look forward to a productive and inspiring collaboration!
We are pleased to welcome Franz Fagan and Robin Hartwig, who have joined the Fleißner research group for a one-month internship. Both students will contribute to ongoing projects while sharpening their laboratory skills and gaining experience in independent research.
Robins project follows a recent forest excursion, which he also participated in: he will isolate microorganisms from pine cones, with a special focus on the mycobiome. Meanwhile, Franz will work on a different project, aiming to advance our understanding of the protein EOP-1. Using molecular genetic techniques, he will construct a polylinker for various fusion-proteins. We are excited to see their progress and results!
We are happy to welcome Berthold, who joined the Fleißner group in January 2026. He will work on membrane repair mechanisms in Neurospora crassa.
In his project, Berthold will investigate how fungal cells cope with membrane damage caused by cell fusion and by membrane-active plant defense compounds. Building on previous work showing that fungi employ multiple membrane-associated tolerance and repair strategies, his research aims to better understand plasma membrane repair as an important line of defense against membrane stress in fungi.
We’re excited to have you on board, Berthold, and wish you a great start!
André and Anne together with Bernard Slippers, spent two excellent days in Finland with colleagues from the forest pathology community, hosted by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE). The program featured seminars on Diplodia species and pine decline, offering valuable insights into current challenges and ongoing research.
A big thank-you to Eva Terhonen for organizing this inspiring event in Helsinki!
Our new article “The chitin synthase regulator CSR-3 promotes cellular integrity during cell-cell fusion in the filamentous ascomycete fungus Neurospora crassa” has been published in PLOS Genetics. The study identifies CSR-3 as a key factor that stabilizes the fusion process by supporting chitin-dependent cell wall remodeling and linking it to the MAK-1 MAP kinase pathway.
Michelle Thomaser to our group as a new PhD student. She has been awarded a DBU fellowship to study the importance of mycobiomes for tree health in times of climate change.
Her project focuses on the forest pathogen Diplodia sapinea and its role in tree decline under climate stress. She will investigate how the pine tree mycobiome influences infections and may contribute to tree resilience.
We are excited to share our newest publication:
“Advancing forest pathology: the need for community-driven molecular experimental model systems”
This perspective highlights the urgent need for collaborative approaches and standardized model systems to accelerate research in forest pathology.
We are pleased to announce the publication of our article “Mikrobielle Dialoge: zelluläre Kommunikation in Schimmelpilzen” in BIOspektrum. The piece highlights the dialogue-like signalling process that enables cell fusion in filamentous fungi and shows that this mechanism also allows communication between distantly related species.
We are excited to share these insights with a broader life science audience and thank BIOspektrum for featuring our work.
We are pleased to welcome back Christiaan Grobler from the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) in Pretoria for a three month stay at the Institute of Genetics and the HZI. In addition to his work on exploring the melanin pathways of D. sapinea, he will closely collaborate with Marc Stadtler’s group to analyze the secondary metabolite profile of D. sapinea. These efforts aim to deepen our understanding of the pathogen’s biology and its role in blue stain formation in conifer wood. We look forward to another productive and inspiring research exchange.
The 2nd Brunswick Workshop on “Microbial Interactions in the Phytosphere” took place on March 27–28, 2025, at the BRICS in Braunschweig. The event was jointly organized by André Fleißner (TUBS), Maria Pimenta Lange (JKI), Yvonne Becker (JKI), and the Fleißner group (TUBS). It was made possible with generous support from the Zentrum Klimaforschung.
zkfn.de/mikrobielle-interaktionen-verstehen/
It was a pleasure to welcome Dominik Begerow and Kathrin Blumenstein as keynote speakers—their insights and expertise added great depth to the workshop.
The program offered a lively and diverse mix of topics—ranging from microbiomes in various ecosystems and microbial secondary metabolites to innovative and sustainable approaches for plant protection in agriculture and forestry.
More than 60 participants enjoyed short talks from local research groups, invited presentations from specialists, and plenty of time for questions, discussions, and exploring future collaborations. It was a highly interactive and inspiring meeting—we thank all speakers and attendees for their contributions!
In early March, the Fleißner group participated in the 17th European Conference on Fungal Genetics (ECFG17), held at the Convention Centre in Dublin. Sofie Friedrich, Natascha Rotermund, Lina Strzelczyk, Anne Oostlander, and Prof. André Fleißner attended the conference and had a fantastic time engaging with the global fungal research community.
A particular highlight for the group was the opportunity for Lina Strzelczyk and Natascha Rotermund to give talks, where they presented their latest research to an international audience. Both did an outstanding job representing the lab!
Finally, after three years of delayed repairs, our new climate chamber is up and running! Featuring programmable neon tubes, it now allows us to grow plants under varying day and night intervals. It didn’t take long for PhD students Sofie Friedrich and Milena Dziomba to place their strawberry plants in the chamber. Some of these plants have already been inoculated with pathogenic fungi. We're excited about the upcoming experiments in the climate chamber and the insights they will offer into the role of plant-associated mycobiomes.
We are pleased to welcome Christiaan Grobler from the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) in Pretoria to our lab for a three-month research stay. During his time with us, Christiaan will be focusing on Diplodia sapinea, a significant fungal pathogen in forestry.
This pathogen infects a variety of conifer species, leading to a discoloration that can severely impact the aesthetic and commercial value of the timber. The discoloration, also known as blue stain, reduces the marketability of affected wood and poses challenges for industries reliant on high-quality wood products.
Christiaan’s research aims to unravel the mechanisms by which Diplodia sapinea contributes to blue staining. By exploring the interactions between the fungus and its host trees, he hopes to identify key factors involved in the staining process.
We are thrilled to have welcomed our colleague from South Africa! Prof. Bernard Slippers from the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) in Pretoria joined us for a few days to work on our ongoing publications and to discuss future projects. It’s always a pleasure to have him with us, and we look forward to many exciting collaborations ahead.
Following his visit, Prof. Bernard Slippers and Prof. André Fleißner traveled together to the International Mycological Congress (IMC) in Maastricht, where they co-chaired the session “Fungal Interactions in the Phyllosphere: From Molecules to Communities” (https://imc12.org/).
We are thrilled to announce the publication of our paper, "Botrytis cinerea Combines Four Molecular Strategies to Tolerate Membrane-Permeating Plant Compounds and Increase Virulence," in Nature Communications. This study, a collaboration with Prof. Jan van Kan's group from Wageningen University, describes for the first time how a plant pathogenic fungus combines different cellular mechanisms to tolerate the membrane-damaging plant defense compounds α-tomatine and digitonin. These findings are also highly relevant to the issue of fungal resistance to fungicides in agriculture and antifungal drugs in clinical settings.
Congratulations to the entire team! Read more about the findings in Nature Communications:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-50748-5
We had the pleasure of hosting our collaboration partners Prof. Jan van Kan and Suraj Hassan Muralidhar from Wageningen University. Their two-day visit was filled with inspiring and lively discussions - and a celebration of our joined publication in Nature Communications. It was wonderful to have them here, and we look forward to many more exciting conversations in the future!
We are delighted to welcome our guest, Nathan Lapp from UC Berkeley's Conservation & Molecular Biology program, to Braunschweig. Nathan is conducting his project, which investigates the role of fungi in forest nutrient cycles, during the summer in Germany. He will be visiting the Fleißner research group and utilizing the laboratory facilities at the Institute of Genetics. We look forward to our time together and wish Nathan great success with his project.
André Fleißner has been appointed as an Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, effective July 1, 2024. The position is affiliated with the 'Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute' (FABI) and the 'Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Biotechnology'. Over the past 12 months, the Institute of Genetics has established a close collaboration with FABI in the field of fungal biology. In this context, several mutual visits, research stays, and student exchanges have already taken place. Future activities will include joint research, teaching, and the application for third-party funding.