PD ad 2026 — The Lofgren Lab

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Cross-kingdom RNA interference promotes arbuscular mycorrhiza development - Nature Plants

The authors provide evidence that symbiotic fungi forming widespread arbuscular mycorrhiza symbioses use cross-kingdom RNA interference to silence plant genes and promote their colonization of host ro...

nature.com

Genomic and physiological signatures of adaptation in pathogenic fungi - Nature Communications

Emerging fungal pathogens have detrimental impacts on crops, animals, and humans, however little is known about their transition to a pathogenic lifestyle. This study demonstrates that the transition ...

nature.com

The biodiversity, genomics, ecology and evolution of mushroom-forming fungi - Nature Reviews Biodiversity

Mushroom-forming fungi have along evolutionary history and a suite of important ecological roles. This Review highlights advances in understanding of Agaricomycetes evolution and ecology driven by gen...

nature.com

Terpenoids are associated with cytokinin and auxin signaling during mycorrhiza formation in the Suillus bovinus

Suillus bovinus is an ecologically significant wild ectomycorrhizal fungus that forms symbiotic associations with pine trees. Terpenoids are known to play a key role in interactions between fungi and plants. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of terpenoids on the formation of symbiotic associations with S. bovinus remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effect of S. bovinus terpenoids on root development and mycorrhizal formation in Pinus yunnanensis using physiological, transcriptomic, and phytohormone assays. Our findings revealed that terpenoids from S. bovinus were associated with alterations in the synthesis and signaling of cytokinin in P. yunnanensis, evidenced by changes in the expression of specific genes in the mevalonate synthesis pathway and signaling transduction, such as CKXs, AHP, and A-ARRs. Similarly, these terpenoids correlated with changes in auxin synthesis and signaling, indicated by modulated tryptophan levels and the expression of specific enzyme genes, such as GH3, AUX1, AUX/IAA, and SAUR. This suggests that terpenoids from S. bovinus may contribute to lateral root development and mycorrhizal formation in P. yunnanensis, potentially by influencing the relative levels of cytokinin and auxin. These results shed light on the potential involvement of terpenoids produced by S. bovinus in establishing symbiotic interactions between ectomycorrhizal fungi and their host plants, warranting further direct functional validation.

sco.lt

Historic transposon mobilisation waves create distinct pools of adaptive variants in a major crop pathogen - Nature Communications

In this study, the authors analysed a large genomic dataset to trace how jumping genes shaped the global spread of a major wheat pathogen and reveal bursts of activity over decades that drove adaptati...

nature.com

Genomic and phenotypic insights into the expanding phylogenetic landscape of the Cryptococcus genus

Author summary Cryptococcus is a genus of fungi that includes both pathogenic species capable of causing life-threatening infections in humans and many environmental species that inhabit soil, fruit, ...

journals.plos.org

Applied Biostatistics

ybrandvain.github.io

Homepage - 33rd Fungal Genetics Conference

Visit our website to learn more.

genetics-gsa.org

MacArthur Foundation Announces 2025 ‘Genius Grant’ Winners

nytimes.com

Ectomycorrhizal fungi being introduced together with their plant hosts on Isla Victoria, Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina, in 1936.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

A timetree of Fungi dated with fossils and horizontal gene transfers - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Combining fossil-based and molecular calibrations with data on horizontal gene transfer events, the authors develop a time-calibrated phylogeny of Fungi. This timescale, which integrates analytic uncertainties, suggests an older age of crown Fungi (1,401–896 million years ago), as well as a minimum age for ancient interactions involving fungi and the algal ancestors of embryophytes in terrestrial ecosystems (1,253–797 Ma).

nature.com

Transposable elements are vectors of recurrent transgenerational epigenetic inheritance

DNA methylation loss at transposable elements (TEs) can affect neighboring genes and be epigenetically inherited in plants, yet the determinants and significance of this additional system of inheritan...

science.org

Frontiers | Diverse nitrogen acquisition strategies of conifer-associated ectomycorrhizal fungi shape unique responses to changing nitrogen regimes

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are critical mediators of nitrogen acquisition in forest ecosystems, exhibiting variation in both host association and metabolic traits...

frontiersin.org

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

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Homology-mediated transformation of frog-killing fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis illuminates chytrid development and pathogenesis

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ) infects amphibians and causes chytridiomycosis, a disease linked to global amphibian decline. Despite its ecological importance, Bd has lacked ...

biorxiv.org

Mycoviruses steer fungal fitness

Nature Microbiology - A mycovirus drives the fitness of the lung-infecting fungus Aspergillus fumigatus under stress, helping it to survive within immune cells, and thus shaping its pathogenesis.

rdcu.be

FungAMR: a comprehensive database for investigating fungal mutations associated with antimicrobial resistance - Nature Microbiology

An online, manually curated and continually updating database of fungal antimicrobial resistance mutations provides a starting point for further research in fungal AMR.

nature.com

Assistant Professor - Plant Resilience to Climate Change - Department of Plant and Microbial Biology

University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!

aprecruit.berkeley.edu

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Tenure System - East Lansing, Michigan, United States

Working/Functional Title Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Tenure System Position Summary The Department of Plant Biology (PLB) at Michigan State University (MSU) seeks applications for a director of...

careers.msu.edu

Assistant or Associate Professor - Fungal Biology/Mycology

The Department of Plant Pathology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) at the University of Georgia is recruiting for the position of Assistant or Associate Professor in Fu...

ugajobsearch.com

Stanford | Faculty Positions: Details - Assistant Professor in Traditional Ecological Knowledge

facultypositions.stanford.edu