Lutzoni Lab – Evolution, Ecology, and Genomics of Fungal Symbioses

Welcome to the Lutzoni Lab

NSF - Arctic fungi

Learn more about our NSF project on endophytic and endolichenic fungi of the Arctic

NSF - GoLife

Learn more about our NSF, GoLife, project on the largest group of unknown fungi.

Factors shaping lichen networks

Learn more about our NSF BEE project on lichen networks.

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.

2024-06: Congratulations to Amanda Wilson – recipient of two awards!

By Diego Garfiasgallegos June 12, 2024 June 12, 2024 News

In her first year as a PhD student, Amanda received both the Forest Fungal Ecology Award from the Mycological Society of America and the Graduate Student Research Award from the Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine and Duke Microbiome Center for her research on fungal endosymbiont dispersal!

2024-03: Congratulations Carlos Pardo De la Hoz – recipient of two prestigious awards!

By Diego Garfiasgallegos May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024 News

This year, Carlos received both the Graduate Research Fellowship from the Mycological Society of America, and the Bill Dahl Graduate Student Research Award from the Botanical Society of America for his eco-evolutionary and comparative genomic research on lichen symbiosis using the model clade Peltigera and their cyanobacterial partners Nostoc!