We are offering a Bachelor thesis or research project course (RPC) to investigate fungicide effects on different life stages of the crayfish plague Aphanomyces astaci.

The crayfish plague Aphanomyces astaci growing on agar plates (photo by P. Baudy)

The crayfish plague A. astaci, a fungal-like oomycete, constitutes a high-risk pathogen for European crayfish species and is responsible for local mass mortalities. However, as an organism, A. astaci interacts with its environment, and anthropogenic stressors present in its habitats may affect its fitness and its infectivity. A stressor that might be of particular importance in this context are fungicides, as some of these substances are designed to trigger toxic effects in terrestrial oomycetes.

As a first step into this topic, this project aims to assess the toxicity of several current-use fungicides to different life stages of A. astaci (i.e., hyphal growth, sporulation, germination) in our lab specifically equipped to work with crayfish plague at the Geilweilerhof in Siebeldingen.

The thesis or RPC can start immediately, but we are flexible. Prior knowledge is not required.

If you are interested, please contact Kathrin Theissinger (theissinger@uni-landau.de) or Jochen Zubrod (zubrod@uni-landau.de).