Phylogenomics of Hypocreales: evolution of shifts in fungal ecologies and nutritional modes

真菌是显着的生态位，他们占据和生态服务，他们在人为和自然生态系统提供。本计画将探讨在种类与生态功能上皆具多样性的肉座菌目真菌的基因组演化。这项研究将涉及基因组测序和比较分析，重点是促进生态变化的基因组规模变化（例如，分解者对病原体）和营养模式（例如，植物碳源与动物碳源）。该项目是跨学科的合作项目，采用生物和计算科学的工具以及来自三大洲的研究人员。 真菌是很有前途的药物来源，是控制虫害和污染土壤生物修复的替代品，在生物燃料的开发中也必不可少。 然而，为了利用真菌来改善社会，有必要更深入地了解导致其基因组多样化及其代谢的模式和过程。为了实现这些进步，需要更多的学生和年轻研究人员以跨学科的方式进行培训，其结果是学术界，工业界和政府机构中合格的一代科学家能够研究应对现代世界挑战的生物解决方案。

Fungi are remarkable for the ecological niches they occupy and the ecological services they provide in both human-made and natural ecosystems. This project will investigate the genomic evolution of a large order of fungi, Hypocreales, which is diverse in both number of species and ecological functions. This research will involve sequencing of genomes and comparative analyses that focus on genome scale changes that promote shifts in ecologies (e.g., decomposers vs. pathogens) and nutritional modes (e.g., plant vs. animal-based carbon sources). The project is interdisciplinary and collaborative, employing tools from biological and computational sciences and researchers from three continents. Fungi are promising sources of pharmaceuticals, alternatives for control of insect pests and bioremediation of contaminated soils, and essential in the development of biofuels. In order to exploit fungi for the betterment of society, however, a more robust understanding of patterns and processes that have led to the diversification of their genomes and subsequently their metabolism is necessary. To achieve these advancements, more students and young researchers trained in an interdisciplinary manner are needed, with the result being a qualified generation of scientists in academia, industry and government agencies equipped to study biological solutions to the challenges of the modern World.