ANZAAS Vic Science Talk, Free, all welcome (booking not needed) Free pizza and drinks after the talk. Bring your friends!

Venue: Gene Technology Access Centre (GTAC), in the grounds of University High School, 1H Royal Parade Parkville, off Story Street

Wednesday 18th November 2009, at 6:30 pm

Professor Michael Hynes

Department of Genetics, University of Melbourne

“GENETICS, FUNGI, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY”

Geneticists have a particular philosophy in how they approach the unravelling of fundamental problems in biology. This involves the investigation of the effects of the alteration of genes involved in the process of interest. This methodology was highly successful long before the discovery of DNA structure or the development of modern recombinant DNA techniques. The use of organisms highly suited to rapid laboratory based genetic studies has been fundamental to this. One group of such organisms is the fungi. This will be illustrated by considering some fundamental Nobel prize winning discoveries in Medicine, including the 2009 award, in which the use of fungi for genetic analysis was crucial. Fungi are a diverse group of organisms ubiquitous in the biosphere. They perform essential roles in breaking down organic matter and in plant nutrition. They are sources of food but can also cause spoilage. They are a major source of plant diseases and an increasing problem as human infectious agents. They are used widely in industry as sources of enzymes, antibiotics, chemicals and, of course, alcohol. A personal case history of how my fundamental research interests contributed accidentally to the development and continuing use of DNA manipulations of industrial fungi will be presented.