Project 3
Surfing the surface: hydrophobins on fungal hyphae
Supervisors: Erika Kothe, Friedrich Schiller University Jena; Wilhelm Boland, Aleš
Svatoš, MPI for Chemical Ecology
Background: Fungal hyphae can grow from the water phase into the air. To achieve
that, hydrophobins are covering the fungal cell wall in aerial mycelium. These small
proteins are excreted from the growing hyphal tip. The amphipathic proteins refold to
form multimers at hydrophobi/hydrophilic interphases. In ectomycorrhizal fungi,
hydrophobins are also necessary to achieve multicellular pseudoparenchymatic
tissue with rhizomorphs, the hyphal mantle and Hartig’ net. It is still not clear, how the
specifically expressed hydrophobins contribute to the hyphal attachment with each
other or with the plant cell wall while still not prohibiting nutrient exchange between
both partners within the cell-cell contact. While differential expression with different
stimuli in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Tricholoma vaccinum could identify mycorrhiza
specific and aerial hyphae specific hydrophobins, their role in hyphal contact linked to
specific structures could not be elucidated yet.
Project Description: Based on the hypothesis of different structures of hydrophobins
with rodlets on aerial hyphae formed by Hyd8 and multimers with ring- or plus-like
structure in Hartig’ net, the thesis should identify the proteins in different tissue by
mass spectrometry. Using electron microscopy, the multimer structure is to be
determined. With transformation experiments, the role of each hydrophobin should be
elucidated. To perform knock-out or knock-down experiments, methods like
CrispR/Cas or RNAi should be established with the fungus. As a model for different
techniques, the white-rot Schizophyllum commune can be used.
Candidate profile: MSc in microbiology and knowledge in molecular biology,
knowledge with ectomycorrhizal is advantagous.