HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged 
On April 22, 2025, a delegation from the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, led by the academy's president, Dr. Cai Youming, and senior researcher Dr Zou Gen, visited the BRC to strengthen the emerging joint mushroom genomics collaborations and to learn about the research portfolio of the Momentum Mushroom Genomics and Evolution Group operating at the BRC Institute of Biochemistry. The research group led by László Nagy conducts world-renowned research in the field of fungal developmental biology and evolution, and their work can contribute to solving many challenges in the mushroom industry. The goal of the emerging collaboration is primarily knowledge transfer and training of young researchers, but it can also lead to industrial collaborations in China, which is the world's largest mushroom producer.
The BRC visit of the delegation will be followed by further meetings in China and Hungary, which will contribute to enhancing the reputation of the BRC in the Far East as well.
Bacteriophages (shortly phages) are viruses that infect and replicate only in bacterial cells. They are ubiquitous in the planet, extremely diverse in size, morphology, and genomic organisation, and they are the earth's most abundant biological agent. As being harmless to human cells but killing bacteria, they are subject of intense studies (also in the HUN-REN BRC) as potential alternative therapeutic tools for fighting bacteria and their increasing resistance against drugs.
A groundbreaking study published in Nature Communications has revealed novel insights into bacterial resistance and offers a promising strategy for developing antibiotics that minimize the evolution of resistance. Led by Csaba Pal, D.Sc. at HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Hungary, the research team demonstrated that a dual-target approach, combining membrane disruption with an additional critical cellular pathway, significantly prevents the development of resistance in bacteria.
The vice president of the National Reserch, Development and Innovation Office informed in writing the general director of the HUN-REN BRC, that the infrastructure named „Complex Molecular and Cell Biological Centrum” of the HUN-REN BRC received an „Excellent Research Infrastrucure” award.
