This cluster focuses on the chemistry and diversity of filamentous fungi to gain knowledge on systematics, microbial chemistry and ecology. These microorganisms are an unlimited source of new chemicals, bioconversion reactions and processes for modern industrial and food biotechnology. At the same time filamentous fungi are of outmost importance concerning food and feed safety due to their capabilities to produce mycotoxins.
Combining knowledge from classical microbial techniques, chemistry, ecology and molecular biology, the goal is to provide knowledge for a predictive taxonomy, assessment of food safety, and to develop new approaches for the discovery of useful organisms and new drug candidates. To do this efficiently, we have segregated our activities into two deeply integrated areas: Fungal Systematics and Diversity and Microbial Chemistry and Metabolomics.
Fungal Systematics and Diversity focuses on organisms collected from the natural and domesticated environments and has the overall goal to discover and classify new cultures and species, understand the ecology and provide a predictive taxonomy, using all available techniques to study this.
Microbial Chemistry and Metabolomics focuses on the metabolites produced as a major part of the phenotype in most fungi. This research builds on the systematics, ecology and collection developed by the Fungal Systematics and Diversity group and include development of advanced metabolite profiling, chemical analysis, structure elucidation, informatics and data mining techniques.
To support the overall research of CMB, the discovery cluster holds the internationally recognized IBT Culture Collection of fungi. Holding more than 30,000 strains, this is a CMB core facility.
The discovery cluster is also responsible for the CMB core Metabolomics platform(MPF). MPF is responsible for running the analytical facilities with several mass spectrometers, gas and liquid chromatography and informatics.