Students from the Biotech Agrifood group at the Universitat de València, hosted by Prof. Thines' group at Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, studied a series of natural compounds generated by fungi with potential application as herbicides for the possible replacement of chemical pesticides.

Student-Driven project: Obtaining and risk assessment of natural products from fungi: Reducing the use of pesticides with sustainable natural products.

Abel Navarré, Nuria Dasí and Víctor De Opazo, students of the Agri-Food Biotechnology group of the University of Valencia, were hosted by the group of Prof. Thines from Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, partner of the FORHTEM Alliance and formed by Antea Dulaj, Lara Schoen and Klemens Heeb, visiting first the facilities of the University and the Institute für Molekulare Physiologie, under the supervision of Prof. Luis Antelo.
During the stay, a number of natural compounds generated by fungi with potential application as herbicides for the possible replacement of chemical pesticides were produced, isolated and identified, and fungal strains of plants were isolated and identified for further research.
In addition to the scientific activities, the students were able to make several cultural visits, both in Mainz, visiting the church of St. Stephen or the river Rhein, and in nearby towns such as Saulheim, where they could taste typical wines of the area during the wine fair, and visited the vineyards in the area.
Therefore, not only did they share ideas and collaborate in research, but there was also a very fruitful cultural exchange for the two FORTHEM partners, highlighting the brotherhood that exists between the cities of Mainz and Valencia.