We broadly investigate fungal diversity, systematics and evolution, ecology, and symbiotic interactions with a focus on "zygomycetes". "Zygomycetes" refers to two phyla of fungi (Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota) that are microfungi of various ecologies including insect gut-dwellers, insect pathogens, mycoparasites (fungi that attack other fungi), microinvertebrate parasites and pathogens, and the most ubiquitous beneficial plant symbionts, the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Current Projects
Diversity of Mucoromycotina fungi and their bacterial endosymbionts in Southern California - students isolate fungal species from locally collected soil samples to obtain pure cultures. Tissues from pure cultures are then harvested for DNA extraction and PCR amplification of genes to obtain fungal identification and for phylogenetic analyses, as well as screen the fungi for bacteria.
Dung-mediated dispersal of fungi in Southern California - samples of animal dung including guano from bats are incubated for fungal growth. Fungi are then isolated into pure culture for molecular identification as in the project above. In particular, we are interested in putative opportunistic human pathogens and how movement of these fungi in dung could facilitate their dispersal and persistence in the environment.
Characterization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in economically important avocado and lemon orchards in the Santa Clara River Valley, Ventura, CA - we will be conducting soil sampling surveys along natural-riparian-agricultural gradients in avocado and lemon orchards. These soil samples will then be analyzed using metabarcoding sequencing methods to characterize the fungal communities present across these different habitat types. Our main questions are: 1) what AMF are present and which are dominant in crops, 2) how do fungal communities change with increasing distance from natural vegetation, and 3) does proximity to natural vegetation provide an inoculum source and spillover of fungi into adjacent croplands?
We also have ongoing collections of mushroom-forming fungi from the region as part of my Fungal Biology classes.
