Dr. Vasilis Kokkoris Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Nuclear dynamics in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Abstract: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are an ecologically and economically important group of asexual soil fungi that are found everywhere on earth. AMF form the most widespread terrestrial symbiosis, known as mycorrhizal symbiosis, with the roots of approximately 70% of land plants. These widespread symbionts have a distinct nuclear organization with thousands of nuclei flowing simultaneously within their coenocytic hyphae and spores. Recently it was revealed that these nuclei are either genetically homogeneous (homokaryons) or heterogeneous (dikaryons), whereby thousands of nuclei of two distinct types co-exist at all times. By combining molecular approaches, advanced microscopy and mathematical modeling, I set out to explore the fascinating nuclear dynamics of AMF. Specifically I aim to better understand how the genetically distinct nucleotypes in the dikaryotic strains are coordinated across the mycelia and spores in response to environmental factors and whether the existence of higher genetic diversity present in the dikaryotic strains provide a functional advantage over the homokaryotic strains.
Bio: "My academic journey started in Greece where I completed my masters in biotechnology at the Agricultural University of Athens. I then traveled to the other side of the globe for my PhD. I completed my PhD on microbial ecology/biology at the university of British Columbia in Canada under the supervision of Professor Miranda Hart. The next step took me to Ontario where as a post-doc at the University of Ottawa and at the Agriculture and Agri-food Canada I worked with a dream team: Professor Nicolas Corradi, Dr. Franck Stefani and Dr. Jeremy Dettman. Recently, I moved back to Europe and I am currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Ecological Science at Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam where I am establishing my own lab. " Comments are closed.
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