To expand the knowledge on anaerobic fungal diversity, a database on their distribution shall be created and potential novel ecological niches for strain isolation shall be identified. These novel and known habitats shall then be screened for different representatives of Neocallimastigomycota as well as for their resting stages and potential inducers thereof. A special focus shall be laid on the identification and investigation of syntrophic interactions between anaerobic fungi and closely connected bacteria or archaea also by analyzing expression profiles via Minion RNA Seq and calculating underlying thermodynamic processes.

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This work package will be led by the University of Innsbruck.