Mycology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Understanding how beneficial associations between plants and microbes develop is an important biological question that is particularly relevant in modern agriculture and economy. Our goal is to use microbes better to maintain the sustainability of our agriculture by protecting the environment over the long term and reducing costs for food, feed and biofuel production.
Biography All organisms must be able to sense and respond to their environment and defend themselves against environmental stress. Cells respond to acute environmental stress by mounting a multi-faceted cellular response that typically includes coordinated changes in transcription and translation, protein function, and metabolic fluxes, along with transient arrest of growth and cell cycle progression. …
Biography My research program investigates the ecology of fungus and fungus-like plant pathogens for enhanced and integrated disease management. Specifically, we investigate Phytophthora species pathogenic on potato and vegetable crops in field and storage. My program conducts research on P. infestans, P. capsici, and P. erythroseptica to determine pathogen genotypes/races/clonal lineages, mating types, host range, …
Biography Fungi are the primary agents of plant disease and mutualism, thus representing both threats and opportunities for grower incomes and global food security. Yet mitigating the harm of pathogens and maximizing the benefit of mutualists is challenging because many of the mechanisms underlying fungal evolution are poorly understood. Our goal is to investigate the …
Biography Carbon metabolism is the energy superhighway of life. We study the diversity and evolution of yeast carbon metabolism, which is controlled by a complex system of interacting genes that respond to different carbon sources and determine the organism’s energy-use strategy. Some yeasts readily ferment sugars into ethanol, even in the presence of oxygen, but …