Abstract - Geomyces destructans, a newly discovered cold-loving fungus ("psychrophile"), has devastated bat populations in North America. We know very little about this fungus as there are huge gaps in our knowledge of how fungi thrive in cold conditions and what unique traits make them pathogenic. Specifically, the forms and functions of fungi at low temperature have not yet been subjected to genetic analyses. Therefore, the unique enzymes and proteins that make psychrophilic life possible at such extreme low temperature remain unknown and their biotechnology potential remains unrealized. The investigators in this project propose to remove major barriers to experimental investigations of psychrophilic fungi by providing a molecular toolkit for the experimental manipulation of G. destructans and its psychrophilic sibling species G. pannorum. The experimental focus will be on the development of reliable systems for the manipulation, deletion or over-expression of target genes in G. destructans and G. pannorum. These approaches would allow assignment of specific roles for various genes of interest. Additional objectives will focus on labeling two fungal species with stable fluorescent proteins so that details of fungal development can be studied by high resolution microscopy. This project will lay down the foundation for the study of cellular processes in the psychrophilic fungi. This is an important pursuit to discover if there is a unity or diversity of gene functions in different groups of fungi. It is expected that investigators in mycology, genetics, polar biology, environmental sciences, infection biology and industrial biotechnology would benefit from the reagents and findings generated in this study. This project will also involve mentoring of a post-doctoral fellow who might pursue study of psychrophilic fungi subsequently as an independent investigator. Additionally, undergraduate students will be trained under summer research experience for underrepresented minorities in an ongoing NSF Program at the host institution.
