top of page

Black Fungi: excellence in the extremes

Black Fungi are highly polyphyletic within Ascomycota (Eurotiomycetes and Dothideomyceta). They are ubiquitous in natural and anthropogenic environments being among the most stunning “extremophiles” and/or “extremotolerant” organisms, resistant to stresses, e.g. UV and ionizing radiation, heat and desiccation, toxic metals and organic pollutants, that makes them key organisms in maintaining the balance and functionality in all the harshest ecosystems.
​
 
Shed LighT in the daRk lineagES of the Fungal tree of life (STRES) is a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) https://jgi.doe.gov/.  The project aims to sequence nearly 100 species of black fungi (reference species) and about 500 additional species in the group of Black Fungi from different ecologies and different life-styles (e.g. ant- and lichen-associated fungi, rock-inhabiting fungi, etc.) using Illumina platform.
The data acquired will serve as a reference and foundation for establishing encyclopedic database for fungal metagenomics, biology, evolution and ecology and will further clarify how such fungi adapt and succeed in the extremes.
​

The project was proposed by an International Consortium, including:

  • Laura Selbmann (PI, University of Tuscia, Italy)

  • Jason E. Stajich (co-PI, University of California, Riverside, USA)

  • Sybren de Hoog (co-PI, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, NL) 

  • Anna Gorbushina (co-PI, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) 

  • Nina Gunde-Cimerman (co-PI, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) 

  • Lucia Muggia (co-PI, University of Trieste, Italy)

  • Katja Sterflinger (co-PI, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria)

  • Giovanna C. Varese (co-PI, University of Turin, Italy) 

More details               STRES Website

bottom of page