The research performed in this lab involves the evolutionary genomics of ecologically relevant and medically important fungi. In particular, the research focuses on two fungal organisms that are evolutionary unrelated but equally intriguing: the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) and the Microsporidia. AMF represents an ecologically relevant group of ancient asexuals that form widespread symbioses with the roots of most land plants. These organisms have unusual cellular features, as each mycelium is composed of thousands of nuclei that coexist within one cytoplasm and by an elevated intracellular molecular diversity . The research aims to understand the origin and evolution of this peculiar polymorphism, and to acquire long-awaited insights into the content and structure of AMF genomes by comparing large genome and transcriptome sequence data. In parallel, a large chunk of our research focuses on the acquisition and comparative analysis of genomic data from a group of obligate intracellular parasites called Microsporidia. Most species of this group are characterized by miniaturized genomes, which we use as models to study the evolution of eukaryotic parasite genomes in a broad sense
Selected publications
-
Sperschneider J., Yildirir Y., Rizzi, Y, Malar C M., Mayrand Nicol A., Sorwar E., Chen E.C.H. , Brauer E.K , Bosnich W., Gutjahr C. and N. Corradi. Resolving the haplotypes of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi highlights the role of two nuclear populations in host interactions. Nature Microbiology, 8, pages 2142–2153
-
Malar M.C., Krüger M., Krüger C., Wang Y., Stajich J.E., Keller J., Chen C.H., Yildirir G., Villeneuve-Laroche M., Roux C.R., Delaux P.M. and Corradi N. The genome of Geosiphon pyriformis reveals ancestral traits linked to the emergence of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Current Biology. 31, 1570-1577.e4
-
Kokkoris V., Chagnon P.L., Yildirir G., Clarke K., Goh D., MacLean A.M., Dettman J., Stefani F. and Corradi N. Host identity influences nuclear dynamics in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Current Biology. 31, 1531-1538.e6
-
Kokkoris V., Stefani F., Dalpé Y., Dettman J. and N. Corradi. Nuclear Dynamics in the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi. Trends in Plant Science 25 p. 41-48.
-
Ropars J., Kinga Sędzielewska Toro K., Noel J., Pelin A., Charron P., Farinelli L., Marton T., Krüger M., Fuchs J., Brachmann A. and N. Corradi. 2016. Evidence for the sexual origin of heterokaryosis in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi. Nature Microbiology, 1, 1603