An
Introduction
to the
Taylor
Lab
Fungi are the least explored of the three kingdoms of higher
organisms, in spite of the fact that the yeast fungus is essential to
the baking and brewing industries, that fungi improve the nutrition of
almost every plant on earth through their mycorrhizal root symbiosis,
that fungal diseases are responsible for most of the morbidity and
mortality of humans with impaired immune systems, and that fungi
produce many important pharmaceuticals in addition to penicillin.
We study the evolutionary relationships of fungi, concentrating on the
fungi that cause human disease. Our approach is to sequence DNA
from different fungi and use the differences in sequence to infer their
genealogy. Using this method, we have helped to define the limits of
the fungal kingdom, we have coupled rates of fungal molecular change
to geologic time, we have elucidated the relationships of several of
the most severe human pathogenic fungi, and we have used this
information to design molecular methods to rapidly and accurately
identify these fungi.
We became interested in the evolutionary potential of asexual fungi
through a study of Penicillium and its relatives. This research
led us to our current project analyzing genetic variation in
populations of two human pathogenic fungi to see if they rely on sexual
reproduction and if the genetic variation correlates with the type of
disease that they cause. We hope that our research will not only tell
us more about the biology of fungi, but also how they interact with
humans in industry and medicine. Not all of our research concerns
medical mycology; the most recent student dissertation was on
basidiomycete phylogeny, and current projects include powdery
mildew phylogeny, Cenococcum evolution, and lichen
population genetics.
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fungal hyphae
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Saccharomyces
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Chytridium confervae
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Lepiota procera
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Arcyria
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Rhizopus
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Chaetomium
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Cystotheca
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Aspergillus
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