Visitors: Constantino Ruibal

Constantino Ruibal

In the Fall of 2006, the Lutzoni Lab welcomed Constantino Ruibal from the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS) in the Netherlands. He joined our lab as an AFToL visitor, and his research focused on the phylogenetic placement of various groups of melanized, meristematic rock fungi. This work ties in well with the 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 was in collaboration with Sybren DeHoog (CBS) and Cécile Gueidan (Lutzoni Lab).