Professor; Curator of Fungi; Lewis E. Wehmeyer and Elaine Prince Wehmeyer Professor in the Taxonomy of Fungi
About
Academic background
I received my Ph.D. degree from Duke University in biology in 2003. I was a postdoctoral fellow in biology at Duke University from 2003-2006, in evolutionary biology at Uppsala University from 2006-2007, and in biology at McMaster University in 2008.
Research interests
Much of the obvious adaptive evolution in Fungi is observed in their diversification of mating systems and dispersal mechanisms. I study the evolution of sex and reproductive traits of Fungi and attempt to link these traits with phylogeny and population genetics. I am particularly interested in the intriguing phenomenon of heterokaryosis in Fungi. The heterokaryon is an alternative to diploidy in which multiple genetically different nuclei inhabit the same cell after mating occurs. I am studying genomic conflict in this system by measuring the degree to which the nuclei of a heterokaryon compete or cooperate with each other. Understanding this behavior includes investigating the role of pheromone signaling in the communication between nuclei.
In addition, our lab is interested in the evolution of the ancient aquatic fungi known as the chytrids. Our methodology includes molecular biology, phylogenetics, and fungal cultivation. Currently, I am focusing on the following three projects:
- Evolution of mating systems
- Molecular systematics of novel fungal lineages
- Evolutionary genomics and population genetics of the chytrid fungal disease of amphibians
- Role of mitotic recombination in microevolution
Research Areas(s)
- Evolution of fungi, mating systems, phylogenetics
Affiliation(s)
Field(s) of Study
- Evolution of fungi, mating systems, and phylogenetics
Graduate students
- Quinn Moon
- Gayathri Venkatraman
Postdoctoral fellow
- Tamilie Carvalho
- Yi-Hong Ke
- Saleh Rahimlou
