mgr Alicja Okrasińska
Scientific interests
- Factors affecting the presence and diversity of endohyphal bacteria in the representatives of Mucoromycota
- Effects of endohyphal bacteria on the biology of Mucoromycota representatives
Research projects
Ongoing projects
- Together or alone? How endohyphal bacteria impact their fungal host?, NCN PRELUDIUM 20
- Influence of soil contamination on the occurence and diversity of Mucoromycota and their endosymbiotic bacteria – secondary investigator, NCN OPUS 13 (head Julia Pawłowska, PhD)
Finished projects
- Monography “Grzyby chronione Polski” – contractor, MNiSW nr DNM/SP/468952/2020
- Diversity of endophytic Mucoromycota in non-vascular plants and closely related algae, DSM
Interships
- Bonito Lab, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. Internship funded by Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (Iwanowska Program) (10.2019 – 04.2020)
- Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kórnik, Poland. Internship funded by POWER 2014-2020 (07-09.2016)
Memberships
- Polish Mycological Society
Publications
2022
Okrasińska, Alicja; Decewicz, Przemyslaw; Majchrowska, Maria; Dziewit, Lukasz; Muszewska, Anna; Dolatabadi, Somayeh; Kruszewski, Łukasz; Błocka, Zuzanna; Pawłowska, Julia
Marginal lands and fungi – linking the type of soil contamination with fungal community composition Journal Article
In: Environmental Microbiology, 2022.
@article{https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16007,
title = {Marginal lands and fungi – linking the type of soil contamination with fungal community composition},
author = {Alicja Okrasińska and Przemyslaw Decewicz and Maria Majchrowska and Lukasz Dziewit and Anna Muszewska and Somayeh Dolatabadi and Łukasz Kruszewski and Zuzanna Błocka and Julia Pawłowska},
url = {https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1462-2920.16007},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16007},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-05-31},
journal = {Environmental Microbiology},
abstract = {Summary Fungi can be found in almost all ecosystems. Some of them can even survive in harsh, anthropogenically transformed environments, such as post-industrial soils. In order to verify how the soil fungal diversity may be changed by pollution, two soil samples from each of the 28 post-industrial sites were collected. Each soil sample was characterized in terms of concentration of heavy metals and petroleum derivatives. To identify soil fungal communities, fungal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) amplicon was sequenced for each sample using Illumina MiSeq platform. There were significant differences in the community structure and taxonomic diversity among the analysed samples. The highest taxon richness and evenness were observed in the non-polluted sites, and lower numbers of taxa were identified in multi-polluted soils. The presence of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, gasoline and mineral oil was determined as the factors driving the differences in the mycobiome. Furthermore, in the culture-based selection experiment, two main groups of fungi growing on polluted media were identified – generalists able to live in the presence of pollution, and specialists adapted to the usage of BTEX as a sole source of energy. Our selection experiment proved that it is long-term soil contamination that shapes the community, rather than temporary addition of pollutant.
},
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2021
Muszewska, Anna; Okrasińska, Alicja; Steczkiewicz, Kamil; Drgas, Olga; Orłowska, Małgorzata; Perlińska-Lenart, Urszula; Aleksandrzak-Piekarczyk, Tamara; Szatraj, Katarzyna; Zielenkiewicz, Urszula; Piłsyk, Sebastian; Malc, Ewa; Mieczkowski, Piotr; Kruszewska, Joanna S.; Bernat, Przemysław; Pawłowska, Julia
Metabolic Potential, Ecology and Presence of Associated Bacteria Is Reflected in Genomic Diversity of Mucoromycotina Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 12, pp. 239, 2021.
@article{muszewska2021,
title = {Metabolic Potential, Ecology and Presence of Associated Bacteria Is Reflected in Genomic Diversity of Mucoromycotina},
author = {Anna Muszewska and Alicja Okrasińska and Kamil Steczkiewicz and Olga Drgas and Małgorzata Orłowska and Urszula Perlińska-Lenart and Tamara Aleksandrzak-Piekarczyk and Katarzyna Szatraj and Urszula Zielenkiewicz and Sebastian Piłsyk and Ewa Malc and Piotr Mieczkowski and Joanna S. Kruszewska and Przemysław Bernat and Julia Pawłowska},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2021.636986},
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2021.636986},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-02-15},
journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
volume = {12},
pages = {239},
abstract = {Mucoromycotina are often considered mainly in pathogenic context but their biology remains understudied. We describe the genomes of six Mucoromycotina fungi representing distant saprotrophic lineages within the subphylum (i.e., Umbelopsidales and Mucorales). We selected two Umbelopsis isolates from soil (i.e., U. isabellina, U. vinacea), two soil-derived Mucor isolates (i.e., M. circinatus, M. plumbeus), and two Mucorales representatives with extended proteolytic activity (i.e., Thamnidium elegans and Mucor saturninus). We complement computational genome annotation with experimental characteristics of their digestive capabilities, cell wall carbohydrate composition, and extensive total lipid profiles. These traits inferred from genome composition, e.g., in terms of identified encoded enzymes, are in accordance with experimental results. Finally, we link the presence of associated bacteria with observed characteristics. Thamnidium elegans genome harbors an additional, complete genome of an associated bacterium classified to Paenibacillus sp. This fungus displays multiple altered traits compared to the remaining isolates, regardless of their evolutionary distance. For instance, it has expanded carbon assimilation capabilities, e.g., efficiently degrades carboxylic acids, and has a higher diacylglycerol:triacylglycerol ratio and skewed phospholipid composition which suggests a more rigid cellular membrane. The bacterium can complement the host enzymatic capabilities, alter the fungal metabolism, cell membrane composition but does not change the composition of the cell wall of the fungus. Comparison of early-diverging Umbelopsidales with evolutionary younger Mucorales points at several subtle differences particularly in their carbon source preferences and encoded carbohydrate repertoire. Nevertheless, all tested Mucoromycotina share features including the ability to produce 18:3 gamma-linoleic acid, use TAG as the storage lipid and have fucose as a cell wall component.},
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Chachuła, Piotr; Domian, Grażyna; Gierczyk, Błażej; Halama, Marek; Kałucka, Izabela; Kujawa, Anna; Ławrynowicz, Maria; Łuszczyński, Janusz; Mleczko, Piotr; Okrasińska, Alicja; Pawłowska, Julia; Piskorski, Sebastian; Ronikier, Anna; Ruszkiewicz-Michalska, Małgorzata; Rutkowski, Ryszard; Skoczek, Barbara; Stasińska, Małgorzata; Szczepkowski, Andrzej; Ślusarczyk, Dominika; Ślusarczyk, Tomasz
Grzyby chronione Polski. Rozmieszczenie, zagrożenia, rekomendacje ochronne Book
Instytut Środowiska Rolniczego i Leśnego Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Poznań, 2021, ISBN: 978-83-938379-8-4.
@book{Kujawa2021,
title = {Grzyby chronione Polski. Rozmieszczenie, zagrożenia, rekomendacje ochronne},
author = {Piotr Chachuła and Grażyna Domian and Błażej Gierczyk and Marek Halama and Izabela Kałucka and Anna Kujawa and Maria Ławrynowicz and Janusz Łuszczyński and Piotr Mleczko and Alicja Okrasińska and Julia Pawłowska and Sebastian Piskorski and Anna Ronikier and Małgorzata Ruszkiewicz-Michalska and Ryszard Rutkowski and Barbara Skoczek and Małgorzata Stasińska and Andrzej Szczepkowski and Dominika Ślusarczyk and Tomasz Ślusarczyk},
editor = {Anna Kujawa and Małgorzata Ruszkiewicz-Michalska and Izabela Kałucka},
isbn = {978-83-938379-8-4},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-02-01},
publisher = {Instytut Środowiska Rolniczego i Leśnego Polskiej Akademii Nauk},
address = {Poznań},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
Siedlecki, Igor; Gorczak, Michał; Okrasińska, Alicja; Wrzosek, Marta
Chance or Necessity—The Fungi Co−Occurring with Formica polyctena Ants Journal Article
In: Insects, vol. 12, no. 3, 2021.
@article{insects12030204,
title = {Chance or Necessity—The Fungi Co−Occurring with Formica polyctena Ants},
author = {Igor Siedlecki and Michał Gorczak and Alicja Okrasińska and Marta Wrzosek},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/3/204},
doi = {10.3390/insects12030204},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Insects},
volume = {12},
number = {3},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
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Okrasińska, Alicja; Bokus, Aleksandra; Duk, Katarzyna; Gęsiorska, Aleksandra; Sokołowska, Blanka; Miłobędzka, Aleksandra; Wrzosek, Marta; Pawłowska, Julia
New Endohyphal Relationships between Mucoromycota and Burkholderiaceae Representatives Journal Article
In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol. 87, no. 7, 2021, ISSN: 0099-2240.
@article{Okrasińskae02707-20,
title = {New Endohyphal Relationships between Mucoromycota and Burkholderiaceae Representatives},
author = {Alicja Okrasińska and Aleksandra Bokus and Katarzyna Duk and Aleksandra Gęsiorska and Blanka Sokołowska and Aleksandra Miłobędzka and Marta Wrzosek and Julia Pawłowska},
editor = {Maia Kivisaar},
url = {https://aem.asm.org/content/87/7/e02707-20},
doi = {10.1128/AEM.02707-20},
issn = {0099-2240},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Applied and Environmental Microbiology},
volume = {87},
number = {7},
publisher = {American Society for Microbiology Journals},
abstract = {Mucoromycota representatives are known to harbor two types of endohyphal bacteria (EHB)—Burkholderia-related endobacteria (BRE) and Mycoplasma-related endobacteria (MRE). While both BRE and MRE occur in fungi representing all subphyla of Mucoromycota, their distribution is not well studied. Therefore, it is difficult to resolve the evolutionary history of these associations in favor of one of the following two alternative hypotheses explaining their origin: textquotedblleftearly invasiontextquotedblright and textquotedblleftlate invasion.textquotedblright Our main goal was to fill this knowledge gap by surveying Mucoromycota fungi for the presence of EHB. We screened 196 fungal strains from 16 genera using a PCR-based approach to detect bacterial 16S rRNA genes, complemented with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) imaging to confirm the presence of bacteria within the hyphae. We detected Burkholderiaceae in ca. 20% of fungal strains. Some of these bacteria clustered phylogenetically with previously described BRE clades, whereas others grouped with free-living Paraburkholderia. Importantly, the latter were detected in Umbelopsidales, which previously were not known to harbor endobacteria. Our results suggest that this group of EHB is recruited from the environment, supporting the late invasion scenario. This pattern complements the early invasion scenario apparent in the BRE clade of EHB.IMPORTANCE Bacteria living within fungal hyphae present an example of one of the most intimate relationships between fungi and bacteria. Even though there are several well-described examples of such partnerships, their prevalence within the fungal kingdom remains unknown. Our study focused on early divergent terrestrial fungi in the phylum Mucoromycota. We found that ca. 20% of the strains tested harbored bacteria from the family Burkholderiaceae. Not only did we confirm the presence of bacteria from previously described endosymbiont clades, we also identified a new group of endohyphal Burkholderiaceae representing the genus Paraburkholderia. We established that more than half of the screened Umbelopsis strains were positive for bacteria from this new group. We also determined that, while previously described BRE codiverged with their fungal hosts, Paraburkholderia symbionts did not.},
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2020
Haelewaters, Danny; Okrasińska, Alicja; Gorczak, Michał; Pfister, Donald H.
Draft Genome Sequence of the Globally Distributed Cockroach-Infecting Fungus Herpomyces periplanetae Strain D. Haelew. 1187d Journal Article
In: Microbiology Resource Announcements, vol. 9, no. 6, 2020.
@article{Haelewaterse01458-19,
title = {Draft Genome Sequence of the Globally Distributed Cockroach-Infecting Fungus Herpomyces periplanetae Strain D. Haelew. 1187d},
author = {Danny Haelewaters and Alicja Okrasińska and Michał Gorczak and Donald H. Pfister},
editor = {Antonis Rokas},
url = {https://mra.asm.org/content/9/6/e01458-19},
doi = {10.1128/MRA.01458-19},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
journal = {Microbiology Resource Announcements},
volume = {9},
number = {6},
publisher = {American Society for Microbiology Journals},
abstract = {Herpomyces periplanetae is an obligate biotroph of Periplaneta americana, the American cockroach. Its nearly cosmopolitan distribution is shaped by its globally invasive host and the international pet trade. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of H. periplanetae, based on a thallus from P. americana collected in Cambridge, Massachusetts.},
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tppubtype = {article}
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2019
Pawłowska, Julia; Okrasińska, Alicja; Kisło, Kamil; Aleksandrzak-Piekarczyk, Tamara; Szatraj, Katarzyna; Dolatabadi, Somayeh; Muszewska, Anna
Carbon assimilation profiles of mucoralean fungi show their metabolic versatility Journal Article
In: Scientific Reports, vol. 9, pp. 11864, 2019.
@article{pawlowska2019,
title = {Carbon assimilation profiles of mucoralean fungi show their metabolic versatility},
author = {Julia Pawłowska and Alicja Okrasińska and Kamil Kisło and Tamara Aleksandrzak-Piekarczyk and Katarzyna Szatraj and Somayeh Dolatabadi and Anna Muszewska },
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-48296-w#citeas},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48296-w},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-08-14},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
volume = {9},
pages = {11864},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
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Banasiak, Łukasz; Pietras, Marcin; Wrzosek, Marta; Okrasińska, Alicja; Gorczak, Michał; Kolanowska, Marta; Pawłowska, Julia
In: Fungal Ecology, vol. 39, pp. 94 - 99, 2019, ISSN: 1754-5048.
@article{BANASIAK201994,
title = {Aureoboletus projectellus (Fungi, Boletales) – An American bolete rapidly spreading in Europe as a new model species for studying expansion of macrofungi},
author = {Łukasz Banasiak and Marcin Pietras and Marta Wrzosek and Alicja Okrasińska and Michał Gorczak and Marta Kolanowska and Julia Pawłowska},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1754504818301491},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2018.12.006},
issn = {1754-5048},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
journal = {Fungal Ecology},
volume = {39},
pages = {94 - 99},
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2018
Wijayawardene, Nalin N.; Pawłowska, Julia; Letcher, Peter M.; Kirk, Paul M.; Humber, Richard A.; Schüßer, Arthur; Wrzosek, Marta; Muszewska, Anna; Okrasińska, Alicja; Istel, Łukasz; Gęsiorska, Aleksandra; Mungai, Paul; Lateef, Adebola Azeez; Rajeshkumar, Kunhiraman C.; Singh, Rajshree V.; Radek, Renate; Walther, Grit; Wagner, Lysett; Walker, Christopher; Wijesundara, Siril D. A.; Papizadeh, Moslem; Dolatabadi, Somayeh; Shenoy, Belle D.; Tokarev, Yuri S.; Lumyong, Saisamorn; Hyde, Kevin D.
In: Fungal Diversity, vol. 92, no. 1, pp. 43–129, 2018, ISSN: 1560-2745.
@article{4ed53db950814a7ebd07f50586eb547b,
title = {Notes for genera: basal clades of Fungi (including Aphelidiomycota, Basidiobolomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Calcarisporiellomycota, Caulochytriomycota, Chytridiomycota, Entomophthoromycota, Glomeromycota, Kickxellomycota, Monoblepharomycota, Mortierellomycota, Mucoromycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Olpidiomycota, Rozellomycota and Zoopagomycota)},
author = {Nalin N. Wijayawardene and Julia Pawłowska and Peter M. Letcher and Paul M. Kirk and Richard A. Humber and Arthur Schüßer and Marta Wrzosek and Anna Muszewska and Alicja Okrasińska and Łukasz Istel and Aleksandra Gęsiorska and Paul Mungai and Adebola Azeez Lateef and Kunhiraman C. Rajeshkumar and Rajshree V. Singh and Renate Radek and Grit Walther and Lysett Wagner and Christopher Walker and Siril D. A. Wijesundara and Moslem Papizadeh and Somayeh Dolatabadi and Belle D. Shenoy and Yuri S. Tokarev and Saisamorn Lumyong and Kevin D. Hyde},
doi = {10.1007/s13225-018-0409-5},
issn = {1560-2745},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Fungal Diversity},
volume = {92},
number = {1},
pages = {43--129},
publisher = {Springer},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2017
Wrzosek, Marta; Motiejūnaitė, Jurga; Kasparavičius, Jonas; Wilk, Mateusz; Mukins, Edgars; Schreiner, Jürgen; Vishnevskiy, Mikhail; Gorczak, Michał; Okrasińska, Alicja; Istel, Łukasz; Pawłowska, Julia
The progressive spread of Aureoboletus projectellus (Fungi, Basidiomycota) in Europe Journal Article
In: Fungal Ecology, vol. 27, pp. 134 - 136, 2017, ISSN: 1754-5048.
@article{WRZOSEK2017134,
title = {The progressive spread of Aureoboletus projectellus (Fungi, Basidiomycota) in Europe},
author = {Marta Wrzosek and Jurga Motiejūnaitė and Jonas Kasparavičius and Mateusz Wilk and Edgars Mukins and Jürgen Schreiner and Mikhail Vishnevskiy and Michał Gorczak and Alicja Okrasińska and Łukasz Istel and Julia Pawłowska},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175450481730020X},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2017.02.003},
issn = {1754-5048},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
journal = {Fungal Ecology},
volume = {27},
pages = {134 - 136},
abstract = {The American bolete Aureoboletus projectellus was first reported in Europe in the first decade of this century. At the beginning, it was only observed on the Baltic Sea shore. Since 2014, the range of this fungus has been significantly expanding, at present it reaches more than 150 km inland and encompasses five countries. Recently, mass occurrences of its fruit bodies were observed in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. A. projectellus forms mycorrhizas with native European trees in the range of their natural distribution (Pinus sylvestris) as well as in the areas where they were introduced (Pinus mugo).},
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2015
Wrzosek, Marta; Gorczak, Michał; Okrasińska, Alicja; Istel, Łukasz; Pawłowska, Julia
Czy można spodziewać się zaburzeń mykocenoz w Tucholskim Parku Krajobrazowym w związku z pojawieniem się obcego gatunku borowikowca? Book Chapter
In: Kunz, Mieczysław (Ed.): Stan poznania środowiska przyrodniczego Tucholskiego Parku Krajobrazowego i Rezerwatu Biosfery Bory Tucholskie., pp. 172-176, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, Tucholski Park Krajobrazowy, Tuchola, Toruń, 2015.
@inbook{wrzosek2015,
title = {Czy można spodziewać się zaburzeń mykocenoz w Tucholskim Parku Krajobrazowym w związku z pojawieniem się obcego gatunku borowikowca?},
author = {Marta Wrzosek and Michał Gorczak and Alicja Okrasińska and Łukasz Istel and Julia Pawłowska},
editor = {Mieczysław Kunz},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-01},
booktitle = {Stan poznania środowiska przyrodniczego Tucholskiego Parku Krajobrazowego i Rezerwatu Biosfery Bory Tucholskie.},
pages = {172-176},
publisher = {Wydawnictwo Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, Tucholski Park Krajobrazowy},
address = {Tuchola, Toruń},
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