Gerald Lackner
Personal Data:
Country of Origin: Germany
Start of PhD: November 2006
PhD Project:
The genome of the endofungal bacterium Burkholderia rhizoxinca
Abstract:
Symbiosis – the close association of two biological species – is a common survival strategy found in nature.
The bacterium Burkholderia rhizoxinica is an endosymbiont of the phytopathogenic fungus
Rhizopus microsporus,
living within the hyphae of its host. It serves its host as intracellular toxin factory providing the fungus
with the antimitotic compound rhizoxin. Rhizoxin is a pathogenicity factor against plants and causes symptoms
of a severe plant disease called ‘rice seedling blight’. Furthermore, rhizoxin was in clinical trials as an
antitumor agent. Consequently, the Burkholderia-Rhizopus alliance has numerous implications for natural product
research and drug development. In addition, since B. rhizoxinica is the first symbiont of fungi that could be
grown in pure culture, it has become a model system for bacterial-fungal interaction. I conducted experiments
aiming at the elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying fungal-bacterial interaction like infection and
vertical transmission of symbionts. First, the whole genome of
B. rhizoxinica was sequenced by shotgun technology
and closed by finishing reactions. After automated annotation of the genome, I identified candidate genes that
might be essential for endofungal lifestyle. The establishment of a gene inactivation strategy and a new bioassay
allowed the generation and testing of mutant endosymbionts for defects in fungal-bacterial symbiosis. We expect
that a better understanding of microbial communication might open new ways for efficient control of microorganisms
with applications in biotechnology or agriculture.
Publications:
- Lackner G, Partida-Martinez LP, Hertweck C (2009) Endofungal bacteria as producers of mycotoxins.
Trends Microbiol 17(12), 570-576.
- Lackner G, Moebius N, Scherlach K, Partida-Martinez LP, Winkler R, Schmitt I, Hertweck C (2009) Global Distribution and Evolution of a
Toxinogenic Burkholderia-Rhizopus Symbiosis. Appl Environ Microbiol 75(9), 2982–2986.
- Lackner G, Schenk A, Xu Z, Reinhardt K, Yunt ZS, Piel J, Hertweck C (2007) Biosynthesis of
pentangular polyphenols: deductions from the benastatin and griseorhodin pathways. J Am Chem Soc 129(30), 9306-9312.
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