Schloss Freudenstein with mineral collection terra mineralia.

Rhodochrosit from Kuruman South Africa.

Vanadinite from Mibladen, Marocco.

Kyanite, Minas Gerais, Brasilia.

The huge minerals collection “terra mineralia” in Freiberg/Sachsen, Germany, is certainly one of the most respected minerals museums worldwide, a true gem and must-have-been for any lover of minerals. Besides, the small town Freiberg is a good place for a stay.

Endofungal Bacteria as Hidden Facilitators of Biotic Interactions Abstract. Fungi play pivotal roles in ecology and human health, driving nutrient cycling, supporting antibiotic production, and posing threats through toxi

🌱 Did you know fungi can host bacteria inside them? 🦠
Our new review reveals the hidden world of endofungal bacteria - microbes living within fungi that influence everything from plant health to human disease.
#NaturalProducts #Fungi #Bacteria #Endosymbiosis
academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...

Endofungal Bacteria as Hidden Facilitators of Biotic Interactions Abstract. Fungi play pivotal roles in ecology and human health, driving nutrient cycling, supporting antibiotic production, and posing threats through toxi

Great #ISMEJournal review by Ingrid Richter, Hannah Büttner, Christian Hertweck @leibniz-hki.de @microverse.bsky.social

Endofungal Bacteria as Hidden Facilitators of Biotic Interactions

academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

Dr. Hannah Büttner accepted the award for an excellent interdisciplinary cooperation project on behalf of the entire project team. Prof. Pierre Stallforth from the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute (Leibniz-HKI) gave the laudatory speech. From left to right: PD Dr. Markus Greßler, Johannes Raßbach, Dr. Hannah Büttner, Prof. Wilhelm Boland (Board of Directors Beutenberg-Campus Jena e.V.), Prof. Pierre Stallforth).

Great news! 🏆🎉 A team led by Hannah Büttner won the Beutenberg Science Award for interdisciplinary collaboration! Their research on Mortierella alpina and its bioactive malpinins offers new possibilities for sustainable agriculture. 🌱🚜 Congrats also to Marianna Boccia for the best PhD thesis! 👏

Beneficial Soil Fungus Kills Predatory Nematodes with Dehydropeptides Translocating into the Animal Gut Mortierella alpina is a mold fungus that has gained attention for its positive correlation with soil health, plant growth, and applications as a crop biocontrol agent to suppress the threats of nematode pests. To date, the mechanisms underlying the protective traits of M. alpina against these plant parasites have remained elusive. Here we report that abundantly produced peptidic biosurfactants, malpinin A–D, exhibit robust inhibitory activity against nematodes. Nematode assays with malpinin congeners and chemically synthesized analogues revealed that the dehydro amino acid is critical for activity, whereas the N-terminal amino acid residues modulate the lipophilicity. Complementary imaging by fluorescence microscopy and Raman microspectroscopy, using externally fluorescence-labeled, semisynthetic malpinin or a biosynthetically alkyne-tagged probe generated by precursor-directed biosynthesis, visualized the translocation and enrichment of malpinin in the gut of the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Our findings provide valuable insight into the use of M. alpina as a biocontrol agent, emphasizing the ecologically significant role of malpinins as a protective trait. In addition to solving a long-standing riddle, these findings have translational value for applications in agriculture.

`Our findings provide valuable insight into the use of M. alpina as a biocontrol agent, emphasizing the ecologically significant role of malpinins as a protective trait... these findings have translational value for applications in agriculture.`
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...