During Research Week, the WVU Office of Undergraduate Research presented Abigail Jones with the Award for Outstanding Publication by an Undergraduate Researcher.
Jones, a senior biochemistry major and Honors College student, was recognized for the paper “ Independent evolution of a lysergic acid amide in Aspergillus species,” which was published in and featured on the cover of Applied and Environmental Microbiology in December 2021.
Alongside faculty mentor Daniel Panaccione, Davis-Michael Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, Jones works with ergot alkaloids, chemicals produced by fungi and notorious for contaminating grains and grasses agriculturally. When modified, however, ergot alkaloids are also commonly found in pharmaceuticals used to treat migraines, dementia and other disorders.
Prior to her research, one such class of ergot alkaloids, lysergic acid amides, was only known to be produced by the Clavicipitaceae family of fungi, many of which are difficult to culture and manipulate.
However, Jones discovered that three species of fungi within the genus Aspergillus also have the capacity to produce lysergic acid amides.
“Aspergillus species are super fast growing and really easy to genetically manipulate,” she said. “For pharmaceutical production, having something that you can easily manipulate and grow very quickly would make a very complex process easier than it is now.”
Jones led the project from initiation to publication, including data collection, phylogenetic analyses, writing, figure preparation and engaging in the peer-review process.
“I’m proud of Abby for her creativity and commitment,” Panaccione said. “She started the bioinformatic part of her project remotely during the original COVID shutdown, then later developed the biochemistry skills to confirm the predictions of her bioinformatic work. The impact of Abby’s research has extended beyond her publication because it has spawned exciting new projects for several other students in our lab. What Abby has accomplished during her time in my lab has exceeded my expectations of any student.”
Jones was selected as a Beckman Scholar in 2021 and plans to attend WVU School of Medicine in the fall of 2023.