Jianping Xu
Professor, Biology

Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics of Fungi The overall objective in our research is to understand how fungi evolve. We examine both the patterns of fungal evolution as well as the mechanisms responsible for the observed patterns of evolution. We study fungal populations from the environment, human hosts, clinics, and the laboratory to address a variety of issues such as the rates and effects of spontaneous mutations; the persistence and spread of mutations in natural environments and human populations; and the origins of novel traits, genotypes and species. Our research uses microbiological, molecular, ecological and quantitative genetic tools. Our current research includes the following topics: 1. Population genetics of fungi, including wild mushrooms and human and animal fungal pathogens 2. Fungal mitochondrial DNA variation and inheritance 3. Development of biomarkers for efficient identification of human fungal pathogens. 4. Genetic analyses of quantitative traits in human fungal pathogens.