Fungi in the genus Tolypocladium are diverse in their host associations, but the predominant ecologies include parasites of the ectomycorrhizal genus Elaphomyces and pathogens of insects. The aim of this dissertation research is to examine the evolution of these fungi and their host associations. To accomplish this several lines of...
Rhizopogon is a large genus of ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi that grows in association with host trees of the family Pinaceae. We have conducted a series of studies investigating the ecology and evolutionary biology of the EM symbiosis shared between R. subgenus Villosuli and trees of the genus Pseudotsuga. Two members...
The vegetation of the Oregon coast is characterized by a
variety of stages of plant succession which are repeated widely
throughout the sand dune area. During the years from 1960 to 1963
the gradation of upland sand dune succession was studied on 48 plots
within a 150 mile section of...
An increased understanding of secondary metabolism in fungi is important for both biological and societal reasons. The ascomycete genus, Tolypocladium, is an ideal system to explore secondary metabolism characterization, ecology, evolution and regulation. The genus produces and has the genomic potential to produce a wide array of metabolites. Paired with...
A hierarchical series of studies, based mainly on molecular data, was conducted to elucidate the life history of the Douglas-fir Swiss needle cast pathogen Phaeocryptopus gaeumannii at macro- and micro-evolutionary scales. This information was then utilized to design and evaluate molecular diagnostic tools for use in studies on the epidemiology...
The scale of pest and disease dispersal is often larger than the scale of individual farms. Therefore, an individual grower’s response to pests and diseases can affect and is affected by their surrounding growing region. Individual growers are also not isolated, and engage in various forms of information gathering, sharing,...
Cyanobacterial harmful algae blooms (cyanoHABs) are a growing concern worldwide due to damage of ecosystems and threats to human health. Previous research indicates that plant humics from aquatic and wetland vascular plants are effective inhibitors of cyanobacterial metabolism and growth and may be useful as control agents for mitigating cyanoHABs....
The climate of the Pacific Northwest is in flux, and existing forest ecosystems are stressed and poised to shift in fundamental ways, with or without human intervention. This dissertation probes the nature of forest responses to environmental change through investigations of morphology and genetics of three species of alder co-occurring...
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an extensive class of noncoding genes that regulate gene expression through
posttranscriptional repression. Given the potential for large viral genomes to encode these transcripts, we
examined the human cytomegalovirus AD169 genome for miRNAs using a bioinformatics approach. We
identified 406 potential stem-loops, of which 110 were conserved...
Rhizopogon vesiculosus is a common ectomycorrhizal (EM) symbiont of Pseudotusga menziesii (Douglas-fir) in the coast range of the Pacific Northwest. The species has been studied for its systematics, genet size, population structure, and competitive ability in several field and experimental studies. This thesis seeks to provide a more thorough characterization...