Rytas J. Vilgalys, Professor  

Rytas J. Vilgalys

My scientific work includes traditional and modern research approaches to studying all areas of mycology including systematics, evolution, medical mycology, plant pathology, genetics/genomics, and ecology.  I am best known for my involvement in the transition of fungal systematics from a non-quantitative, largely morphologically based science to the rigorous genome-based discipline that it is today.  For the past 20 years, my lab has been increasingly involved in the study of fungal “ecogenomics” using targeted and shotgun metagenomics which link molecular function with fungal diversity.  In collaboration with medical mycologists and basic scientists at Duke Medical Center, I have also helped to bring an evolutionary biology perspective toward the study of human mycoses.

Education:
Ph.D., Virginia Polytech Institute and State University, 1985
MS Botany, Virginia Tech, 1982
M.S., Virginia Polytech Institute and State University, 1981
BA Botany, State University of New York College at Geneseo, 1978
B.A., State University of New York, Geneseo, 1978

Office Location: Room 346, Biological Sciences Building, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708
Email Address: fungi@duke.edu
Web Page: http://www.biology.duke.edu/fungi/mycolab/
Additional Web Page: https://sites.duke.edu/vilgalyslab/

Specialties:
Evolution
Genetics
Systematics

Research Categories: Phylogenetic systematics and molecular evolution in fungi

Research Description:

Representative Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

  1. Benítez, M-S; Hersh, MH; Vilgalys, R; Clark, JS, Pathogen regulation of plant diversity via effective specialization., Trends in ecology & evolution, vol. 28 no. 12 (December, 2013), pp. 705-711 [24091206], [doi]  [abs].
  2. Gryganskyi, AP; Humber, RA; Stajich, JE; Mullens, B; Anishchenko, IM; Vilgalys, R, Sequential utilization of hosts from different fly families by genetically distinct, sympatric populations within the Entomophthora muscae species complex., PloS one, vol. 8 no. 8 (January, 2013), pp. e71168 [doi]  [abs].
  3. Bonito, ; Gregory, ; Smith, ME; Nowak, M; Healy, RA; Guevara, G; Cázares, E; Kinoshita, A; Nouhra, ER; Domínguez, LS; Tedersoo, L; Murat, C; Wang, Y; Baldomero, ; Moreno, A; Pfister, DH; Nara, K; Zambonelli, A; Trappe, JM; Vilgalys, R, Historical biogeography and diversification of truffles in the Tuberaceae and their newly identified Southern hemisphere sister lineage, PLOS ONE (in press), vol. 8 no. 1 (2012), pp. e52765 [23300990], [doi]  [abs].
  4. Smith, M E and Henkel, T W and Uehling, J K and Fremier, A K and Clarke, H D and Vilgalys, R, The Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Community in a Neotropical Forest Dominated by the Endemic Dipterocarp Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea, PLoS ONE, vol. 8 no. 1 (January, 2013), pp. e55160 .
  5. Weber, CF; Vilgalys, R; Kuske, CR, Changes in Fungal Community Composition in Response to Elevated Atmospheric CO2 and Nitrogen Fertilization Varies with Soil Horizon., Frontiers in microbiology, vol. 4 no. APR (January, 2013), pp. 78, FRONTIERS MEDIA SA [doi]  [abs].
  6. Shakya, M; Gottel, N; Castro, H; Yang, ZK; Gunter, L; Labbé, J; Muchero, W; Bonito, G; Vilgalys, R; Tuskan, G; Podar, M; Schadt, CW, A multifactor analysis of fungal and bacterial community structure in the root microbiome of mature Populus deltoides trees., PloS one, vol. 8 no. 10 (January, 2013), pp. e76382 [doi]  [abs].
  7. Hersh, MH; Vilgalys, R; Clark, JS, Evaluating the impacts of multiple generalist fungal pathogens on temperate tree seedling survival., Ecology, vol. 93 no. 3 (March, 2012), pp. 511-520 [22624206], [doi]  [abs].
  8. Dunbar, J; Eichorst, SA; Gallegos-Graves, LV; Silva, S; Xie, G; Hengartner, NW; Evans, RD; Hungate, BA; Jackson, RB; Megonigal, JP; Schadt, CW; Vilgalys, R; Zak, DR; Kuske, CR, Common bacterial responses in six ecosystems exposed to 10 years of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide., Environmental microbiology, vol. 14 no. 5 (May, 2012), pp. 1145-1158 [doi]  [abs].
  9. Weber, CF; Zak, DR; Hungate, BA; Jackson, RB; Vilgalys, R; Evans, RD; Schadt, CW; Megonigal, JP; Kuske, CR, Responses of soil cellulolytic fungal communities to elevated atmospheric CO₂ are complex and variable across five ecosystems., Environmental microbiology, vol. 13 no. 10 (October, 2011), pp. 2778-2793 [abstract], [doi]  [abs].
  10. Gottel, NR; Castro, HF; Kerley, M; Yang, Z; Pelletier, DA; Podar, M; Karpinets, T; Uberbacher, E; Tuskan, GA; Vilgalys, R; Doktycz, MJ; Schadt, CW, Distinct microbial communities within the endosphere and rhizosphere of Populus deltoides roots across contrasting soil types., Applied and environmental microbiology, vol. 77 no. 17 (September, 2011), pp. 5934-5944 [5934], [doi]  [abs].

Curriculum Vitae