Applied Mycology and Phenomics
Kris Audenaert
The mission of LAMP
Reducing crop losses due to (toxigenic) fungal plant pathogens is one of the major challenges in agriculture as these pathogens, driven by climate change, migrate from the equator towards the poles. New technologies will make it possible to develop agricultural practices in better harmony with the natural environment. The mission of the Laboratory of Applied Mycology and Phenomics (LAMP) is to significantly contribute to solving the above-described grand challenges by exploring new innovations to control fungal plant pathogens. We embedded our research in the following thematic areas in applied mycology:
1. Plant-growth promoting endophytic fungi for healthy crops, free of fungal phytopathogens
2. The use of green leaf volatiles (GLVs) and biogenic volatile compounds (BVOCs) as new agronomic tools in crop protection
3. Monitoring plant pathogenic fungal populations with focus on emerging problems in diverse crops comprising wheat, maize, allium sp., tomato, potato,…
4. Microbial degradation and detoxification of toxins produced by phytopathogens
5. New enzyme-based technologies against fungal phytopathogens
The UGent Network
LAMP is involved in several large-scale collaborations on biostimulants and toxigenic fungi. MYTOX is a consortium which was established in 2007 and is headed by Prof. Sarah De Saeger (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences). MYTOX deals with mycotoxin research based on four main pillars: (i) identification, characterization and transcriptional engineering of toxigenic fungi; (ii) prevention and control of toxigenic fungi in the food and feed chain; (iii) targeted and non-targeted mycotoxin analysis and (iv) health impact upon toxins exposure. This well-structured MYTOX group has been very successful in fund raising (>€6 million for more than 20 collaborative projects) and publishing more than 130 collaborative high-quality papers. In 2017, this consortium was extended to MYTOX-SOUTH, an ITN (international thematic network) investigating the mycotoxin issue in the tropics.
CROPFIT is an IOF validation consortium founded to develop, screen and describe new compounds and organisms with growth-promoting characteristics or pest/disease control activities. The consortium exists of 35 research groups. LAMP is actively involved and embedded in this consortium, focusing on beneficial endophytic fungi and bacteria in de rhizo- and phyllosphere. Maaike Perneel is the IOF CropFit business developer and facilitates the interaction between UGent and industrial business partners. (https://www.ugent.be/cropfit/en). This resulted in many bilateral projects with industry.