Dual Action of Natural Enemies: Utilization of the fungal pathogen in controlling the invasive water hyacinth and promoting bio-circular economy
| Name: | Dual Action of Natural Enemies: Utilization of the fungal pathogen in controlling the invasive water hyacinth and promoting bio-circular economy |
|---|---|
| Researchers: |
Záveská Eliška (national coordinator) Pergl Jan (head of research group) Dantas de Queiroz Marcos Vinicius (member of of research group) |
| Provider: | AV ČR |
| Number: | JFS23STI-155 |
| Realization from: | 2025 |
| Realization to: | 2027 |
| Summary: | This project aims to tackle the invasion of a major aquatic weed, the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) by studying the interaction with a natural enemy, the fungus Paramyrothecium eichhorniae. Through population/comparative genomics of the host plant and the pathogen combined with pathogenicity assays, we will determine whether this fungus could be a biocontrol agent against a wide panel of water hyacinth clones. At the same time, it will explore the potential of the biocontrol as a basis to circular economy development by studying the feasibility of a new type of bio-composite materials based on water hyacinths degraded by P. eichhorniae, and the feasibility in food and feed by the detection of mycotoxins from P. eichhorniae-degraded water hyacinths. This project is a platform for a multidisciplinary collaboration between Thailand (fungal taxonomy, pest management, bio-composite material, and mycotoxin), Switzerland (evolutionary genomics of fungal pathogen) and the Czech Republic (population genomics of plants). It is expected to result in cutting-edge knowledge that would allow a generalization of using the fungal pathogen as a biocontrol agent in a wider scale in the future, and to propose a biocontrol strategy integrated in the development of circular economy by using invasive plants resulting from the biocontrol practice. |