2006-09: Welcome Constantino Ruibal, Visiting AFToL Researcher

September 2006 – Welcome, Constantino Ruibal, Visiting AFToL Researcher

The Lutzoni Lab is excited to welcome Constantino Ruibal from the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS) in the Netherlands. He joins our lab as an AFToL visitor, and his research will focus on the phylogenetic placement of various groups of melanized, meristematic rock fungi. This work ties in well with the ongoing, NSF-funded research in the Lutzoni Lab to Assemble the Fungal Tree of Life (AFToL), since a number of these organisms are closely related to lichenized fungi in the Chaetothyriomycetidae. As a result of this research, we may gain insight into a number of interesting questions concerning the ecology and evolution of fungal lifestyles, including the origins of lichenization. This work is in collaboration with Sybren DeHoog (CBS) and Cécile Gueidan (Lutzoni Lab).