Description:

Topic: The Dark Side of Roots: Fungal Symbionts in Extreme Environments. Speaker - Andrea Porras-Alfaro, PhD -- Assistant Professor of Mycology, Microbial Molecular Ecology at Western Illinois University

Abstract:

Symbiotic associations among fungi and plants play a fundamental role in the evolution and establishment of plants on terrestrial ecosystems. However, our current knowledge of plant-associated fungal communities is very limited. In the past years, we have been performing a comprehensive inventory of grass-associated fungal communities at different scales: different plant organs, grass species, and ecosystems. We have found that extreme ecosystems may be hot spots for a large diversity of undescribed dark septate endophytes. Potential functions, adaptations and applications of this widely distributed group of plant fungal symbionts will be discussed.