Project group of Minou Nowrousian at the Department of General and Molecular Botany at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

Filamentous fungi grow in form of hyphae (elongated, branched cell filaments). They can aggregate to form complex structures, e.g. fruiting bodies in which spores are formed. We are interested in the genetic basis of these differentiation processes. To analyze how fruiting body formation is regulated at the molecular level, we use mutant strains that are blocked at early stages of development and compare gene expression in the mutants to that of the wild type using microarray analyses and quantitative real time PCR. Additionally, we compare gene expression in several fungal species to identify expression patterns that are evolutionary conserved (comparative functional genomics). Genes with similar regulation will help to define a core group of genes involved in fungal fruiting body development. More details about these projects can be found on the projects page or in several publications.

New Review: The model organism Sordaria macrospora

Kück U, Pöggeler S, Nowrousian M, Nolting N, Engh I (2009) Sordaria macrospora, a model system for fungal development. In: Anke T, Weber D (eds) The Mycota XV, Physiology and Genetics, 1st edition, Springer-Verlag Berlin-Heidelberg, p. 17-39 pdf-file