Announcement Archive -pre 2007

The field of fungal physiology is about to enter an unprecedented era. New genomics-based tools and resources are generating vast amounts of phenotypic data that reflect the effects of gene deletions on the physiology of the fungal cell. In addition, large-scale systems biology and metabolomic studies are now feasible and will also be yielding immense volumes of data.

To highlight progress towards understanding the inner working of the fungal cell, Microbiology will publish a special issue in November 2009 devoted to fungal physiology. In addition to commissioned reviews, this issue will include original research manuscripts that focus on some aspect of fungal physiology. All manuscripts will be subject to normal peer review. Submissions are invited from mid-March 2009. The deadline for submissions is 1 June 2009.

To register your interest in submitting a manuscript for this special issue, please send an email to the Organizing Editor, Dr Steven Harris (sharri1@unlnotes.unl.edu) or to the Editorial Office (micro@sgm.ac.uk).

For further details about the journal, including Instructions for Authors, visit our website at:

Thy hyphae fair didst bloom upon my plate
Of medium minimal, yet enough to grow.
And with selective fungicides to ensure
Lest non-transformants would contaminate.
In Stygian darkness, but near-UV also
I nourished you and waited you to spoor.
A picture portrait I did make of you,
Your handsome colours did my eye delight
And I did hope that you might be the one!
An homologous recombinant mutant – Oh so true
On you an Honours chapter I would write
And you a thesis cover would become.
Alas! By PCR you proved ectopic
And now you moulder in a bin necrotic.

Note: During my Honours year I was endeavouring to clone the Stagonospora nodorum orthologue of the Magnaporthe grisea pathogenicity MAP kinase gene Pmk1 (Xu and Hamer, 1996) by degenerate PCR, followed by targeted gene disruption. It was demonstrated that the Mak2 gene was required for pathogenicity in S. nodorum (Solomon et al, 2005). During the screening of the transformants there was a number of in vitro phenotype exhibited. One of these was very pretty but ultimately turned out to be an ectopic insertion and was sent to the autoclave. When an Art in Science competition was announced, it presented an opportunity to redress a possible injustice!

We would like to provide an update on the status of Rowland Davis, a scientific leader and beloved member of the Neurospora community. About a month ago Rowland had a serious stroke at his home in Laguna Beach, California. He was in the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital for about two weeks and was then transferred to the acute care facility of Kindred Hospital in Westminster, California. His condition is now stable. It appears that he still has some paralysis and is not yet able to speak. His wife, Margot Norris, has asked those who wish to send messages to do so in the form of cards or letters. These can be sent to 3158 Bern Dr., Laguna Beach, CA 92651. Margot has been taking cards and letters and reading them to Rowland.

The FGSC advisory board met in Kansas City and is pleased to announce the establishment of the FGSC Endowment fund at the Genetics Society of America.

The FGSC has established an endowment fund to provide a basis for enabling long term support of the FGSC.
An endowment fund is being managed by the Genetics Society of America and is called The FGSC Endowment at the GSA.
Capital may be added to this endowment by the FGSC or by the community.
The initial funds for the endowment came from user-fee proceeds that had been held in reserve at KUMC as FGSC emergency funds.
The endowment money will still be available for this purpose, if necessary, although its long term goal is directed to helping achieve financial sustainability for the FGSC.

As part of the Neurospora Functional Genomics Program the FGSC has been preparing KO mutants for distribution. They are available singly or Arrayed in 96- well plates.

We have 8 plates of mutants available within the US as frozen spores in glycerol and to foreign destinations as spores spotted on filter paper disks in 96-well plates.
We are asking $100 per plate plus shipping with a cap of $3000 for people who want the entire set.

The first paper describing the KOs is online now

News from the American Association for the Advancement of Science includes the naming of 13 fungal geneticists as fellows. This is a great thing for fungal genetics. The honorees are: Arturo Casadevall, Aaron Mitchell, Louise Glass, Jim Haber, Phil Hieter, Nancy Keller, Tom Petes, Pat Pukkila, Eric Selker, Fred Sherman, David Soll, Kevin Struhl, and Margaret Werner-Washburne.

The FGSC will be passing the 50 year mark in 2010 and it is not too early to begin thinking about collecting materials to document the effort of all the dedicated scientists who have made the FGSC into what is now. Please let us know if you have any photos, essays, recollections