Head
Staff
Monika Urbaniak, PhD (adjunct)
Elsie Ayamoh Enow, MSc (PhD student)
Maria Kwiatkowska (technician)
Research topics of the team members are focused on the biochemical and molecular characteristics of the saprobiotic and plant-pathogenic mycotoxin-producing fungi (mainly from Fusarium genus), isolated yearly from agriculturally important crops, like wheat, maize, asparagus or garlic. Experiments are aimed at revealing the genetic basis of mycotoxin biosynthesis by strains of different species as well as molecular factors affecting the activity of the metabolic pathways.
Based on the DNA sequence analyses, we are able to reconstruct the phylogeny of individual species, also using genes involved in secondary metabolism. Moreover, the mechanisms of bioactive compounds biotransformation by entomopathogenic fungi are being studied to evaluate their availability for biotechnological applications. We are also investigating the roles of mycotoxins and lytic enzymes in the molecular communication between the pathogen and the host plant.
Research profile
- Molecular identification and characterization of plant- and entomopathogenic fungi.
- Fusarium toxigenic abilities analysis, quantification of mycotoxins produced in vitro and detection of the biosynthetic genes from the respective metabolic pathways.
- Evaluation of the cell wall-degrading enzymes’ activities presented by the pathogenic fungi and respective genes’ expression studies.
- Kinetics of Fusarium mycotoxins biotransformation by strains of fungi in liquid cultures.
- Identification and cloning of the genes encoding enzymes governing the metabolism of mycotoxins.
Methods
- isolation and purification of fungal strains from environmental samples,
- microscopic analysis and taxonomic characteristics,
- extraction of genomic DNA and the total RNA, synthesis of cDNA,
- PCR and RT-PCR amplification,
- molecular analysis of RAPD, SCAR, AFLP, SSR and phylogenetic markers,
- DNA fragment cloning and sequencing,
- biochemical analyses of enzymes activities,
- quantification of mycotoxins produced in vitro and in planta using UPLC and HPLC-MS.
Current research activities
- Mycotoxin-producing Fusarium species analysis of inter-and intraspecific variability inside the secondary metabolicgene clusters.
- Trichoderma fungi capable of mycotoxin biotransformation and variability of their lytic enzyme activities.
- Evolution of the beauvericin and enniatin biosynthetic gene cluster from Fusarium, Trichoderma and Beauveria fungi.
- Plant metabolites and abiotic stress factors triggering Fusarium proliferatum stress response.
- Fusarium-Asparagus interaction – metabolomics and molecular aspects.
Selected papers
- Urbaniak M., Waśkiewicz A., Koczyk G., Błaszczyk L., Stępień Ł. (2020). Divergence of beauvericin synthase gene among Fusarium and Trichoderma species. Journal of Fungi, 6: 288.
- Stępień Ł., Lalak-Kańczugowska J. 2021. Signaling pathways involved in virulence and stress response of plant pathogenic Fusarium species. Fungal Biology Reviews, 35, 27-39.
- Manawasinghe I.S., Phillips A.J.L., Xu J., Balasuriya A., Hyde K.D., Stępień Ł., Harishchandra D.L., Karunarathna A., Yan J., Weerasinghe J., Mei L., Dong Z., Cheewangkoon R. (2021). Defining a species in plant pathology: beyond the species level. Fungal Diversity, DOI: 10.1007/s13225-021-00481-x.
- Perincherry L., Urbaniak M., Pawłowicz I., Kotowska K., Waśkiewicz A., Stępień Ł. 2021. Dynamics of Fusarium Mycotoxins and Lytic Enzymes during Pea Plants’ Infection. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22, 9888.
- Bryła M., Stępniewska S., Modrzewska M., Waśkiewicz A.,Podolska G., Ksieniewicz-Woźniak E., Yoshinari T., Stępień Ł., Urbaniak M., Roszko M., Gwiazdowski R., Kanabus J., Pierzgalski A. 2022. Dynamics of deoxynivalenol and nivalenol glucosylation in wheat cultivars infected with Fusarium culmorum in the field conditions – a three years study (2018-2020), Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 70, 14, 4291-4302.
Research projects
- Project no: OPUS 2017/25/B/NZ9/01210
Project title: Functions of Fusarium-produced lytic enzymes and mycotoxins in pathogenesis and of metabolites responsible for plant defence response
Principal investigator: Ł. Stępień
Duration: 9 February 2018 - 8 December 2022
- Project no: OPUS 2021/43/B/NZ9/02701
Project title: Specificity of the regulation of Fusarium-asparagus interaction by host metabolites and hormones produced during infection process
Principal investigator: Ł. Stępień
Duration: 27 June 2022 – 26 June 2026
