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Molecular
Evolution and Ecology
Group Leader:
José Paulo Sampaio
Overview
This group brings together researchers with
shared scientific objectives and a methodological emphasis on molecular tools
with the aim of building up critical mass and maximizing resources and synergies.
Future research will follow up on previous studies of different issues in fungal
biology within an evolutionary context. It is expected that genomic approaches
and genomic data will be gradually integrated into the various research
projects. Fungi have been the target organisms used by the researchers in this
group but we do not exclude that other model organisms be the focus of future
studies.
Researchers
(PhD)
Álvaro Fonseca
Paula Gonçalves
João Almeida
Marco Coelho
Alan Phillips
Objectives:
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To assess population structure, reproductive modes and
biogeographic patterns within the framework of evolutionary ecology
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To employ existing bioinformatics tools and develop new
ones to link the molecular data with meaningful morphological, biochemical or
ecological traits
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To study gene and/or genome evolution in connection
with phenotypes and ecology in order to gain insights on speciation processes of
sibling species
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To pursue the elucidation of taxonomic relationships at
both the generic and species level in different fungal groups on the basis of
molecular phylogenetic and phylogenomic approaches
Main themes:
Structure and
evolution of fungal mating type loci; elucidation of the molecular basis for
sexual behaviour in various lineages of the basidiomycetes
Allochthonous and autochthonous yeast populations in
aquatic environments and applied studies: yeasts as bioindicators
Evolutionary ecology focussed on the genera Saccharomyces
and Phaffia
Providing clear and unambiguous species definitions in
plant pathogenic fungi: a tool for the diagnosis and control of plant diseases
Development of bioinformatic tools: bidirectional BLAST
annotation tool for the identification of orthologs
Projects
- Project nº POCI/MAR/58130/2004.- Yeasts as
bio-indicators of polluted estuarine and coastal waters). December 2005–December 2008 (PI: J.P. Sampaio)
- Project nº PTDC/BIA-BDE/71734/2006. Evolutionary
ecology of wild populations of Saccharomyces
from the bark of Fagaceae. November 2007–December 2010
(PI: J.P. Sampaio)
- Project nº PTDC/BIA-BDE/73566/2006. Worldwide biogeography of the astaxanthin-producing
yeast Phaffia rhodozyma: Mapping
populations and host associations. November 2007–December 2010 (PI: J.P. Sampaio)
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