Workshops: Forming an integrated understanding of function across fungi: NCEAS and Santa Barbara, CA; August, 2016 and March 2017

虽然真菌通常看不见，但它们几乎在土壤中的任何地方都存在。几个世纪以来，科学家们已经知道有许多不同类型的真菌（例如蘑菇），并且它们发挥着重要的生态作用。 有些有助于分解树叶，有些是营养循环所必需的，有些会导致植物疾病，有些为动物提供食物，许多角色仍然是神秘的。 由于大多数真菌都很小，科学家们很难检测到它们。 然而，随着强大的遗传技术的出现，科学家们突然能够以以前无法想象的方式和地点发现和研究真菌。这些技术突破导致了一个新的和非常不同的问题：收集了如此多的信息，以至于很难保持直线-协调快速发展的研究是一个重大挑战。 该奖项为两个研讨会提供支持，在这些研讨会上，研究真菌的领先科学家将就如何组织和存储数据达成一致，以便公开提供和易于使用，并开发新的问题，指导自然和农业环境中的真菌研究。 研讨会的成果将加强我们检测、预防和抗击动植物真菌疾病的能力。两个研讨会将集中讨论对真菌的不同生态作用的新见解、测序技术的使用、标准实践的发展、大型数据库的设计和管理以及培养合作者网络。 参加研讨会的真菌生物学家将在专业知识，性别，职业阶段和种族方面多样化。 这种多样化的研究人员组合将是第一个专注于真菌性状，生态公会和测序标准的研究人员。 该小组将在一个动态的、版本控制的开放框架中发布和完善两个真菌数据库（性状和生态公会），并将为下一代测序中的社区标准和最佳实践提供建议。

Although they are usually invisible, fungi occur practically everywhere in the soil. Scientists have known for centuries that there are many different types of fungus (mushrooms, for example) and that they play important ecological roles. Some help decompose leaves, some are necessary for nutrient cycling, some cause disease in plants, some provide food for animals, and the roles of many are still mysterious. Because most fungi are so small, scientists have had difficulty detecting them. With the advent of powerful genetic techniques, however, scientists are suddenly able to discover and study fungus in ways and in places that were previously unimaginable. These technological breakthroughs have led to a new and very different type of problem: so much information is being collected that it's difficult to keep straight -- coordinating the fast-moving research is a major challenge. This award provides support for two workshops in which leading scientists who study fungus will agree on how to organize and store data so that it is publicly available and easy to use, and to develop new questions that will guide the study of fungi in natural and agricultural environments. Results of the workshop will strengthen our ability to detect, prevent and fight fungal diseases of plants and animals.Two workshops will focus on synthesizing new insights into the diverse ecological roles of fungi, use of sequencing technologies, development of standard practices, design and curation of large databases, and fostering networks of collaborators. Fungal biologists who attend the workshops will be diverse in terms of expertise, gender, career stage, and ethnicity. This diverse assemblage of researchers will be the first of its kind to focus on fungal traits, ecological guilds and sequencing standards. The group will release and refine two fungal databases (traits and ecological guilds) in a dynamic, version-controlled, open framework, and will provide recommendations on community standards and best practices in next-generation sequencing.