Draft genome sequences for and canker pathogens of and in West Virginia.

The fungal genus contains many phytopathogenic species currently impacting forests and fruit trees worldwide. Despite their importance, a majority of spp. lack sufficient genomic resources to resolve suspected cryptic species.

Giant transposons promote strain heterogeneity in a major fungal pathogen.

Fungal infections are difficult to prevent and treat in large part due to strain heterogeneity. However, the genetic mechanisms driving pathogen variation remain poorly understood. Here, we determined the extent to which -giant transposons capable of mobilizing numerous fungal genes-generate genetic and phenotypic variability in the human pathogen .

Description of new micro-colonial fungi species , cultured from biological soil crusts.

Black yeasts and relatives comprise Micro-Colonial Fungi (MCFs) which are slow-growing stress-tolerant micro-eukaryotes that specialize in extreme environments. MCFs are paraphyletic and found in the Orders () and (). We have isolated and described three new MCFs species from desert biological soil crusts (BSCs) collected from two arid land regions: Joshua Tree National Park (Mojave Desert) and UC Natural Reserve at Boyd Deep Canyon (confluence of Mojave and Sonoran Deserts).

Study of fungal cell wall evolution through its monosaccharide composition: An insight into fungal species interacting with plants.

Every fungal cell is encapsulated in a cell wall, essential for cell viability, morphogenesis, and pathogenesis. Most knowledge of the cell wall composition in fungi has focused on ascomycetes, especially human pathogens, but considerably less is known about early divergent fungal groups, such as species in the Zoopagomycota and Mucoromycota phyla. To shed light on evolutionary changes in the fungal cell wall, we studied the monosaccharide composition of the cell wall of 18 species including early diverging fungi and species in the Basidiomycota and Ascomycota phyla with a focus on those with pathogenic lifestyles and interactions with plants.