Mycology Laboratory

We are appointed by the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food as Slovenian Official Laboratory for Fungi and Oomycetes.

In addition, we are partners in the consortium of the National Reference Laboratory for Fungi and Oomycetes (on crops, vegetables and fruit plants, oomycetes on all plants).

Areas of work

Expert work

Diagnostic Services – We perform the detection and identification of phytopathogenic fungi and oomycetes (fungus-like organisms) using morphological and various molecular identification methods (barcode determination, specific PCR reactions, quantitative qPCR). Our work is carried out in accordance with the standard SIST EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017, which defines the requirements for the competence of testing laboratories.
The Mycological Laboratory has accredited two methods for the detection and identification of Phytophthora ramorum, which causes phytophthora twig blight:
- Isolation and morphological identification of Phytophthora ramorum according to the EPPO standard PM7/66(1), Phytophthora ramorum, EPPO Bulletin (2006) 36, 145-155 (MET-MIK-003).
- Species identification of Phytophthora ramorum using PCR (MET-MIK-004), based on the standard of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures 27 (ISPM 27), Diagnostic Protocols 23: Phytophthora ramorum, ISPM 27 Diagnostic Protocols for Regulated Pests (2017), DP 23-1 – DP 23-24; chapter 3.6.3.1, modified method.
Discovery of new fungal and fomycete secies in Slovenia and beyond.
Systematic Research on Fungal Diseases of Selected Agricultural Plants, such as persimmons, olive trees, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and hazelnuts.
Consultancy on preventive measures and control methods for managing fungal diseases in agricultural crops.
Systematic monitoring of quarantine fungal species (Phyllosticta solitaria, Tilletia indica, and other species).
Monitoring the occurrence of regulated non-quarantine phytopathogenic fungi and oomycetes (NRQP) on planting material and seeds.
Preparation and maintenance of a collection of reference materials and a working collection of fungal isolates.
Implementation of various tools and methods for resistance management and studying the resistance of selected fungi (e.g., Botrytis cinerea, Zymoseptoria tritici) to fungicides, including determining effective concentrations and detecting mutations in harmful organism populations.

Research work

the taxonomy, phylogeny and biology of agriculturally important fungi (both pathogenic and beneficial for plant growth or disease control),
the use of fungi in biotic control,
the development of methods for identifying and detecting selected fungal species,
early detection of fungal diseases in collaboration with other fileds in the Plant protection department.
We participate in several research projects as project leaders or partners. The project contents with objectives are available here: https://www.kis.si/en/Projects/

In 2023, we initiated a new basic research project funded by the Public Agency for Research and Innovation of Slovenia, entitled “ Novel biocontrol fungi for sustainable strawberry production” (J4-50140; October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2026).