Podcast: Exploring fungi’s potential in science and industry
Delve into the fascinating world of fungi research with the project PI. The conversation also touches on the challenges and opportunities in fungi research. Dr. El Sayed Ali shares his experience of isolating fungi from different environments, including the Mokrzański Forest near Wrocław. He highlights the potential of endophytic fungi in producing bioactive compounds and the need for further research to explore their full capabilities.
May 2024
BioExplor takes part in the University open day; Naturalists Day.
Naturalists’ Days 2024 (University Day and Pawłowice Fair)
Date: 24 – 25.05.2024
Time: 11:00 – 17:00
Place of the event: John Paul II Auditorium and Wrocław Pawłowice Palace
Media news about results of the BioExplor project
2024-01-01
BioExplor progress report for the period February 2023 to January 2024
The following research tasks were carried out:
- The development of a mutant strain of a Monascus fungus with enhanced productivity of red pigment, a compound with wide-ranging applications in the food industry.
- Isolation of a fungus producing the carotenoid β-Carotene.
- Isolation of a fungus producing the black pigment melanin.
2023-10-05
BioExplor group member defended her master thesis
Daria Mykhailova conducted her master’s thesis under the BioExplor project and supervised by the project PI.
2023-09-10
Public Lecture about the BioExplor during Fungifest event
Magdalena Kloc presented a lecture about the BioExplor work to the public at the event Fungifest (https://fungifest.pl/).
2023-06-15
Cooperation with Switzerland
Project Mentor and Project Manager performed a successful study visit to the Institute of Life Technologies of the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO//Valais-Wallis) after a kind invitation from Prof. Wolfram Bruck. The significant result of the visit was the cooperation with the institute and Prof. Bruck joined the BioExplor group.
2023-06-12
Group members disseminate project's experimental results
During local conferences, Daria Mykhailova and Magdalena Kloc presented experimental results from the BioExplor project.
2023-05-29
Project manager received prize
The project manager Dr. El Sayed Ali received the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences Rector’s Award for scientific achievements of the year 2023.
2023-02-10
Media news about the BioExplor project in different websites
2023-02-1
BioExplor progress report for the period November 2022 to January 2023
The following research tasks were carried out:
- Collection of plant samples and isolation of endophytic fungi. Twelve plant species were used as follows: Larix decidua, Pinus sylvestris, Corylus avellana, Alnus glutinosa, Quercus robur, Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies, Populus tremula, Sorbus aucuparia, Acer platanoides, Betula pendula, and Robinia pseudoacacia. The plant species were identified with the help of Dr. Katarzyna Patejuk from the Department of Plant Protection, UPWr. About 45 fungal isolates were purified and stored.
- All the isolated endophytic fungi were grown on liquid media. After incubation, the biomass was separated from the culture filtrate. Both of them were extracted separately by organic solvent.
- The prepared crude extracts were checked for the presence of antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antienzymatic activities.
- Crude extracts with color were selected and are under chemical analysis for the presence of carotenoids and other pigments.
2023-01-18
BioExplor Team Members gathering picture
2022-12-12
Project PI and Mentor attended the kick-off meeting organized by NCN for the POLONEZ BIS 1 call
National Science Centre (NCN) Poland organized an official kick-off meeting of the projects awarded to fellows in POLONEZ BIS call 1 on 12-13 December 2022 in Krakow. This meeting provided opportunities for the fellows and mentors from various part of the Poland to interact with each other. More than 60 researchers including the fellows and mentors were attending the event and had a first opportunity for networking among themselves.
2022-11-01
BioExplor - Project kick-off
The project ‘BioExplor’ started on November 1, 2022 at the Department of Biocatalysis and Food Chemistry, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences (UPWr). The project PI, Dr. El Sayed Ramadan El Sayed Ali is employed as a visiting professor and the project mentor is Prof. Filip Boratyński.