Thesis supervisor: Liliána Tóth
co-supervisor: László Norbert Galgóczi
Location of studies (in Hungarian): University of Szeged, Faculty of Science and Informatics, Department of Biotechnology Abbreviation of location of studies: SZTE
Description of the research topic:
As a consequence of the worldwide increase of enormous crop losses by pre- and postharvest pesticide resistant phytopathogenic fungi, there is a substantial demand to develop new antifungal strategies in agriculture and food industry to support the increasing global food consumption in the next decades. Antifungal plant defensins are already considered as potential biofungicides; however, several factors still limit their direct agricultural application. These limitations are the high costs of production, narrow antifungal spectrum, and potential toxic effects on plant and humans/animals. The announced PhD research project aims at proving the safe and effective applicability of novel defensin-like proteins from tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum L). and their rational designed peptide derivatives as biofungicides in plant protection by investigating their antifungal efficacy against phytopathogenic fungi and the toxicity on different human cell lines and plant seedling; furthermore, their application as protective or therapeutic agents against fungal infections on plant leaves and roots. The cost-effective production of tomato plant defensins applying a fungal expression system is also in the focus of the project. In addition, present project aimed to reveal the antifungal mechanisms of these defensins in sensitive fungi, and their potential biostimulator role in the plants to trigger the self-defence mechanisms or modulate the plant development as responses to fungal infection. The accomplishment of present project provides the first step toward new fungal-specific biofungicide development in the pest control and food preservation with worldwide economic and societal impact.
Required language skills: English Further requirements: Basic knowledge in microbiological and protein works.
Number of students who can be accepted: 2
Deadline for application: 2022-12-31
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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