Two
West Virginia University
students’ novel research on ergot alkaloids - toxic compounds produced by fungi - and
their importance to the fields of agriculture and medicine will take them to
Capitol Hill to present their findings to members of Congress.
Caroline Leadmon, from Hurricane, and Jessi Tyo, a Gassaway native, are among 60
students selected nationally by the Council on Undergraduate Research to participate
in Posters on the Hill April 29-30.
The highly competitive event features the most talented researchers from colleges
and universities around the country and provides them with the opportunity to
demonstrate the value of undergraduate research.
For the last two years, Leadmon and Tyo have been conducting research together
under the guidance of
Daniel Panaccione, professor of mycology in the
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.
“High-achieving students have so much expected of them and so many demands on their
time,” Panaccione said. “In addition to their academic and extracurricular responsibilities,
they have made extra investments in their research and I’m happy they are being
recognized for their accomplishments.”
As part of the WVU
Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, Leadmon and Tyo studied ergot alkaloids
in the fungus
Metarhizium brunneum.
“Ergot alkaloids impact humankind as potent pharmaceuticals and as agricultural
contaminants,” Leadmon, a dual major in
animal and nutritional sciences and
biochemistry, explained. “They can serve as the lead compounds in medications
to treat dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and migraines. They
also play a large part in agriculture because their presence can be harmful to
grazing animals; however, they can protect grasses from insects.”
For her project, Leadmon first demonstrated that the
Metarhizium species produces ergot alkaloids when it infects insects but
not plants, a discovery that leads researchers to believe the species can be
used as natural pesticides in crop production.
With respect to
M. brunneum
, she discovered it is the only fungus of the species to produce ergot alkaloids
when cultured in a petri dish or flask – a property that could be important for
pharmaceutical production.
“The discovery that
M. brunneum produces ergot alkaloids presents the opportunity to extract
and study these key chemical compounds for industrial or scientific purposes,”
Leadmon said.
Tyo, a
biology major in the
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, used a gene knockout technique to clone
and characterize a new gene from
M. brunneum that is the last step in making the ergot alkaloids in the species.
She is the first person to successfully apply the technique to this fungus.
“This genetic modification results in the accumulation of a pharmaceutically important
compound,” she explained. “It also sets the stage for more fungal genes to be
analyzed. We can genetically engineer this fungus to mass produce certain chemicals
that have medical applications and that otherwise are difficult to produce.”
Working together, the pair aim to better understand the biochemical pathway in
which these compounds are made and, hopefully, contribute to the advancement
of agricultural and pharmaceutical practices.
Participating in Posters on the Hill is not only a means to share their research,
but also showcase the important work happening at WVU.
“I am excited to represent West Virginia and West Virginia University on a national
level. As and R1 institution, WVU performs some of the best work in the world.
It is an honor to be able to contribute to this body of work, especially as an
undergraduate student,” Leadmon said.
WVU was first rated as an R1, or very high research activity, institution in 2015
by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. As of the
organization’s 2018 assessment, the University continues to rank among the nation’s
elite research institutions.
For Tyo, this is an opportunity to advocate for undergraduate research.
“Research has played an enormous role in my undergraduate career,” she said. “Coming
into college I had no idea what research entailed and all of the important impacts
it has. It allowed me to learn that I love the diagnostic side to research, an
important discovery that shaped my goal of going to optometry school. I believe
it can help others realize their true potential – even if it is that they don’t
like research.”
This is the fourth consecutive year WVU students have been selected to participate in the event.