Leibniz-HKI Researchers Launch FUSION Project Combining Robotics and Genetics to Combat Drug-Resistant Fusarium Fungi

Researchers at Leibniz-HKI launch the FUSION project, using robotic screening and genetic engineering to find new treatments for resistant Fusarium fungi.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 1, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute -

The Dual Nature of a Trans-Kingdom Pathogen

Researchers at the Leibniz-HKI are embarking on an interdisciplinary project to decode the complexities of Fusarium, a rare genus of filamentous fungi capable of infecting plants, animals, and humans. Classified by the World Health Organization as a high-priority pathogen, Fusarium poses a lethal risk to immunocompromised individuals and remains notoriously difficult to treat due to its natural resilience. The FUSION project seeks to bridge the gap between robotics and microbiology to find new ways to penetrate this fungus’s defenses while exploring its untapped potential as a source of medicine.

Robotic High-Throughput Screening Systems

At the center of the technological approach is the JenXplor robotic platform, led by Dr. Luzia Gyr. This system allows for the automated testing of thousands of natural and synthetic molecules against fungal infections under conditions that manual laboratory setups cannot replicate. Adapting this platform for Fusarium presented significant technical hurdles due to the fungus’s filamentous growth patterns and spore formation. However, by refining these automated procedures, the team can now systematically screen the extensive natural product library at Leibniz-HKI to identify candidates that may have been previously overlooked.

Unlocking Silent Genetic Blueprints

While the robotics team handles large-scale testing, Dr. Slavica Janevska’s group focuses on the (epi-)genetic regulation of fungal virulence. Many fungi possess "silent" biosynthetic gene clusters—genetic instructions for creating molecules that remain inactive under standard laboratory conditions. By modifying growth environments or co-cultivating Fusarium with other microbes, the researchers aim to "wake up" these pathways. This genetic prospecting could reveal entirely new secondary metabolites that the fungus uses for defense, which may then be repurposed for human medicine.