Fungi play a key role in global warming because they bioconvert most of the plant-produced carbon sequestered in soil. Models of global change that incorporate biological feedback hinge on whether fungi will show enhanced bioconversion of recalcitrant carbon as temperatures rise. The first part of this project deals with learning more about fungi that have adapted to warmer climes. With a changing global climate, these fungi may move north and release more carbon dioxidefrom soil carbon. The second part of the project focuses on determining the mutation rate of filamentous fungi in order to conduct population genomics studies of filamentous fungi. Without a mutation rate, the timing of population events cannot be determined. If the timing is wrong, then the models concerning global warming will be wrong.
Proposer’s Name: John Taylor