Oct. 5th, 2026. Emma has a background in molecular mirobiology and is currently doing the MS is Microbiome Sciences at University of Vienna. This is a new, competitive MS program at University of Vienna. Emma will be developing a complex mycorrhizal root wash system to investigate how bacteria respond to interacting with ectomycorrhizal fungi at a physiological and cellular level using a range of culturing, stable isotope, and mass spectroscopy approaches. Welcome, Emma!

Sep. 12, 2026. This was a big year for bachelor thesis research in FEL. Lea used DNA metabarcoding to identify intracellular bacteria of fungal endophytes, Johannes and Bettina investigated the osmostic and thermal niches of a wide range of fungal endophytes, and Leo studied mycorrhizal fungal community physiology and its link to tree growth in the largest old growth forest in the Alps (Rothwald). They all produced very good theses and are moving onto their next steps in life, some of whom are now beginning their MS degrees. Well done!

Sept. 2026. Phil Waschk was offered the blue or red pill when starting his MS thesis. He went for the red pill (in this case the very risky, new project!) and set up an elaborate experiment to test whether endophytes could also transfer resources among plants similarly to mycorrhizal fungi. Through a trialing method development stage, he established the approach. And the pay-off was worth it. Depending on the species, endophytic fungi can transfer C, N, and water resources from donor to recipient plants. Most interestingly, this work shows that the functioning of endophytic fungi themselves changes depending on the presence of a receiver plant. This replaces what is an otherwise plant-centric perspective on fungal networks towards a mycocentric one. Congrats, Phil! Read the published paper here.