Responsable: Francisco Javier Ávalos Cordero
Tipo de Proyecto/Ayuda: Becas Marie Curie
Referencia: MERG-CT-2004-006378
Web: http://cordis.europa.eu/projects/rcn/82094_en.html
Fecha de Inicio: 01-10-2004
Fecha de Finalización: 30-09-2005

Empresa/Organismo financiador/es:

• Commission of the European Communities (Research Directorate-General)

Equipo:

• Becarios:
  • María del Carmen Limón Mirón

Becarios:

• Nombramiento de Becario:
  • Sonia Cecilia Distel Colombo
  • Bina Jamnadas Mehta

Resumen del proyecto:

Fusarium fujikuroi (Giberella fujikuroi) is a fungus of biotechnological interest because of its use as industrial source of gibberellins, plant hormones with agricultural applications. Additionally, F. fujikuroi is able to produce carotenoids, compounds used as food additives with beneficial effects on health. Current trends favour the biotechnological production of carotenoids against chemical synthesis. Fungi are among the preferred sources for industrial carotenoids production and the study of its regulatory mechanisms is a major line of research to improve yields.

The ability of F. fujikuroi to produce carotenoids and gibberellins makes this fungus a unique research model to investigate the regulatory relations between both pathways, which share their first biosynthetic steps. The group in which the applicant has reintegrated focuses its research in the regulation of carotenoid and gibberellin biosynthesis in F. fujikuroi. The project aims to investigate the carbon catabolite repression of carotenoid and gibberellin biosynthesis in F. fujikuroi. Mutants with partial deletions of gene creA will be constructed to obtain increased production of carotens and/or gibberellins. Expression of genes from both pathways will be studied and caroten production will be followed by HPLC measurement.