Álvaro Fonseca

BSc 1984 Universidade Técnica de Lisboa
MSc 1988 Universidade Técnica de Lisboa
PhD 1996 Universidade Nova de Lisboa

CREM, Dep. Ciências da Vida (DCV)
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Quinta da Torre
2829-516 Caparica
Portugal}

Email: amrf@fct.unl.pt

TelephoneNº: (+351) 212 948 500; ext.11112

Biographical note
Á. Fonseca’s academic training started in the areas of chemistry (Chemical Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico - IST, Technical University of Lisbon, 1984) and biotechnology (MSc in Biotechnology, IST, 1988). A major shift in his professional path ensued from coming into contact with the field of microbiology during the Masters’ course, particularly from the teachings of professors Madeira Lopes and Nicolau van Uden. His research as Masters’ and later PhD student at the Microbiology lab of the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, as well as his lecturing activities at the Biotechnology Unit (now Department of Life Sciences) of FCT/UNL, deepened his insight into the world of microbes in general, and of yeasts in particular (PhD in Microbiology, FCT/UNL, 1996), and fed his growing passion for the wonders of microbial diversity, evolution and ecology. Current research interests lie in the areas of fungal molecular systematics and ecology, and of molecular genetics of sex in fungi.

Research Interests
My research work in recent years has focused mainly on fungal molecular systematics and ecology. Particular interest has been given to the biology and classification of yeast-producing basidiomycetes, particularly within the Tremellomycetes (Agaricomycotina). Another topic of research was the exploration of yeast diversity and the dynamics of yeast populations in poorly explored habitats such as the phylloplane. Other recent work involved the use of molecular methods to reassess species delimitation of dimorphic ascomycetous fungi belonging to the phytoparasitic genus Taphrina. More recently a new line of research aims to characterise the genomic regions that determine sexual identity and control sexual reproduction (MAT loci) in dimorphic basidiomycetes, viz. members of the genus Rhodosporidium (Sporidiobolales) and tremellaceous yeasts closely related to Cryptococcus neoformans, and to understand their evolution. Collaboration on the latter topic was recently established with the Heitman lab at Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC, USA). My other scientific interests lie with fungal molecular phylogenetics and phylogenomics.

Á. Fonseca* and M.G. Rodrigues. 2011. Chapter 73. Taphrina Fries. In C.P. Kurtzman, J.W. Fell & T. Boekhout (editors), “The Yeasts, a taxonomic study”, 5th edn. Vol. 2 (ISBN: 978-0-123-84707-2). Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 823-858 (doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-52149-1.00073-2)


Á. Fonseca* and J. Inácio. 2011. Chapter 93. Lalaria R.T. Moore emend. Á. Fonseca. In C.P. Kurtzman, J.W. Fell & T. Boekhout (editors), “The Yeasts, a taxonomic study”, 5th edn. Vol. 2 (ISBN: 978-0-123-84707-2). Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 1291-1298 (doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-52149-1.00093-8


Á. Fonseca*, T. Boekhout and J. W. Fell. 2011. Chapter 138. Cryptococcus Vuillemin. In C.P. Kurtzman, J.W. Fell & T. Boekhout (editors), “The Yeasts, a taxonomic study”, 5th edn. Vol. 3 (ISBN: 978-0-123-84868-0). Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 1661-1737 (doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-52149-1.00138-5)


T. Boekhout*, Á. Fonseca, J.P. Sampaio, R.J. Bandoni, J.W. Fell and K.J. Kwon-Chung. 2011. Chapter 100. Discussion of teleomorphic and anamorphic basidiomycetous yeasts. In C.P. Kurtzman, J.W. Fell & T. Boekhout (editors), “The Yeasts, a taxonomic study”, 5th edn. Vol. 3 (ISBN: 978-0-123-84868-0). Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 1339-1372 (doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-52149-1.00100-2


J. Inácio, W. Ludwig, I. Spencer-Martins, and Á. Fonseca*. 2010. Assessment of phylloplane yeasts on selected Mediterranean plants by FISH with group- and species-specific oligonucleotide probes. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 71: 61-72.


L.B. Connell, R. Redman, R. Rodriguez, A. Barrett, M. Iszard and Á. Fonseca*. 2010. Dioszegia antarctica sp. nov. and Dioszegia cryoxerica sp. nov., psychrophilic basidiomycetous yeasts from polar desert soils in Antarctica. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 60: 1466-1472.


K. Findley, M. Rodriguez-Carres, B. Metin, J. Kroiss, Á. Fonseca, R. Vilgalys and J. Heitman*. 2009. Phylogeny and phenotypic characterization of pathogenic Cryptococcus species and closely related saprobic taxa in the Tremellales. Eukaryotic Cell 8: 353-361.


M.A. Coelho, A. Rosa, N. Rodrigues, Á. Fonseca* and P. Gonçalves. 2008. Identification of mating type genes in the bipolar basidiomycetous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides: first insight into the MAT locus structure of the Sporidiobolales. Eukaryotic Cell 7: 1053-1061.


























 Online publications:

J. P. Sampaio & Á. Fonseca 2002. Dimorphic basidiomycetes, an overview. http://www.crem.fct.unl.pt/dimorphic_basidiomycetes/Papers/Overview/overview.htm

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