TU München - Professur für Holz-Bioprozesse


Prof. Dr. J. Philipp Benz


Forschung und Lehre


Generally, our group is interested in the molecular pathways of polysaccharide perception in fungi. How do fungi recognize their carbon-based environment, and how do they integrate the respective signals, enabling them to generate a specific, tailor-made response for an efficient degradation of the given carbon source? We are trying to answer these questions using state-of-the-art molecular biology tools, next-generation sequencing and systems biology approaches.

While we are using the filamentous Ascomycete and genetic model system Neurospora crassa as our main organism for basic science questions, we are also working with other fungi of biotechnological relevance, such as Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus niger, but also with wood-degrading Basidiomycetes, such as Postia placenta (a brown-rot).

Our goal is to apply the knowledge gained from studying the fungal carbon perception and response in various ways: either via enhancing protein secretion or carbon metabolism in bio-industrial fermentations of, for example, agricultural waste products, or via the development of novel wood protection mechanisms.

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