TY - JOUR
T1 - A microscopy-based image analysis pipeline for the quantification of germination of filamentous fungi
AU - Ortiz, Sebastien
AU - Easter, Thomas
AU - Valero Fernandez, Clara
AU - Bromley, Michael
AU - Bertuzzi, Margherita
PY - 2025/2/1
Y1 - 2025/2/1
N2 - Germination is the fundamental process whereby fungi transition from the dormant and stress resistant spores into actively replicating cells such as hyphae. Germination is essential for fungal colonization of new environments and pathogenesis, yet this differentiation process remains relatively poorly understood. For filamentous fungi, the study of germination has been limited by the lack of high-throughput, temporal, low cost, and easy-to-use methods of quantifying germination. To this end we have developed an image analysis pipeline to automate the quantification of germination from microscopy images. We have optimized this tool for the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus and demonstrated its potential applications by evaluating different strains, germination inhibitors, and auxotrophic and antifungal resistant mutants. Finally, we have expanded this tool to a variety of filamentous fungi and developed an easy-to-use web app for the fungal research community.
AB - Germination is the fundamental process whereby fungi transition from the dormant and stress resistant spores into actively replicating cells such as hyphae. Germination is essential for fungal colonization of new environments and pathogenesis, yet this differentiation process remains relatively poorly understood. For filamentous fungi, the study of germination has been limited by the lack of high-throughput, temporal, low cost, and easy-to-use methods of quantifying germination. To this end we have developed an image analysis pipeline to automate the quantification of germination from microscopy images. We have optimized this tool for the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus and demonstrated its potential applications by evaluating different strains, germination inhibitors, and auxotrophic and antifungal resistant mutants. Finally, we have expanded this tool to a variety of filamentous fungi and developed an easy-to-use web app for the fungal research community.
KW - germination
KW - filamentous fungi
KW - spores
U2 - 10.1016/j.fgb.2024.103942
DO - 10.1016/j.fgb.2024.103942
M3 - Article
SN - 1087-1845
VL - 176
JO - Fungal Genetics and Biology
JF - Fungal Genetics and Biology
M1 - 103942
ER -