KNVM

On Friday 27th of November 2026, the autumn meeting of the section Mycology will be held at the Westerdijk Institute in Utrecht starting at 10.00. The theme will be “Wild fungi” and we will meet the fungi in their true environment. From the plant phyllosphere, the enigmatic Ophiocordiceps, the different faces of the genera of Fusarium and an interesting link between plant pathogens and insect mutualists. Then there will be a series of interesting talks of PhD students and postdocs. Further flashes will be sent out to you to inform you about the program.

Coffee and cake will be there in advance when you register at our reception desk from 9.30 on.

NB! The parking place of the Westerdijk/Hubrecht complex has restricted capacity. There is a large parking garage on short walking distance of the Westerdijk Institute. Parking for one day is 6 Euro’s. How to reach The Westerdijk Institute is visible under this link: Westerdijk Institute

NB2! The board of the KNVM has decided that meetings will be (partly) funded, but that there must be a (small) fee paid to attend to these meetings. KNVM members receive a discount.

• €10,= for students
• €15, = for PhD students, Postdocs and KNVM members.
• €30,= for non-members.

Registration is possible via the button on the left, where payment will be made easy and relatively painless. Deadline for registration is 20 November.

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The meeting is entitled: “Wild Fungi”

09.30 - 10.00 Arrival, coffee and registration at reception desk.

10.00 - 10.10 Jan Dijksterhuis (Westerdijk Institute, Utrecht): Introduction

10.10 - 10.50 João PM Araújo (Uni Copenhagen, Denmark): “Beyond zombie-ants: Hidden diversity and life-style transitions in Ophiocordyceps”

10.50 - 11.30 Irina Druzhinina (Kew Gardens, UK): “Beyond model systems, meeting fungi in their own interactive environment.”

11.30 - 11.45 MICROPAUSE

11.50 - 12.20 Aileen Berasategui (Sainsbury Lab, UK); "Plant pathogens moonlighting as insect mutualists"

12.20 - 13.00 Marcelo Sandoval, (Westerdijk Institute, NL); “The genera of Fusarium in their true wildness”.

13.00 - 14.00 Lunch

14.00 - 14.15 To be announced

14.15 - 14.30 To be announced

14.30 - 14.45 To be announced

14.45 - 15.00 To be announced

15.00 - 15.15 To be announced

15.15 - 15.40 Coffee/tea

15.40 - 15.55 To be announced

15.55 - 16.10 To be announced

16.10 – 16.25 To be announced

16.25 - 16.55 Panel discussion on the damage the Nagoya protocol does for Biodiversity Research of Micro-Organisms

16.55 - 17.45  Borrel

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Kind regards,

the section mycology team (Charissa, Duur, George, Jan, Joost,Vasilis)