Understanding fungal diversity from a population perspective

Fungi are hyperdiverse organisms that assemble in dynamic and complex communities and details on individual species are crucial for understanding such complicated assemblages. Studying fungal populations allows understanding how specific species live in nature, which is crucial for a full appreciation of fungal diversity. Populations can tell us about how and why species are distributed across the landscape and whether specific environments act to differentiate populations by imprinting genetic diversity.  Ultimately, population-level studies shed light on the processes involved in the formation of new species.

Speaker: Sara Branco, UC Berkeley