Lutzoni Lab

Research interests in the Lutzoni lab are centered on symbiotic systems involving fungi and photoautotrophic organisms. Lichens, including their microbiomes, have been our principal focus, but since 2005 our research program has expanded to include endophytic fungi found in all lineages of land plants and endolichenic fungi found in lichen thalli. We have been studying these symbioses primarily from a macroevolutionary perspective, but since 2003 we have adopted an interdisciplinary approach bridging evolutionary biology, ecology, and genomics. Research in the Lutzoni lab spans the full spectrum of activities, from intensive fieldwork-based surveys to experimental laboratory work, across broad spatio-temporal scales.