Ep. 66: Madagascar's Marasmius & the Ecology of Monkeyflower Endophytes (feat. Jackie Shay)

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the pleasure of learning from Jackie Shay. Jackie is a fungal evolutionary biologist and microbial ecologist fascinated with the intimate history and future significance of symbiotic relationships between plant hosts and their microbial communities. Her goal is to use integrative techniques to explore these interactions in the natural world and learn how we can apply these partnerships to promote conservation and resilience through climate change. Jackie received a master's in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology from the Desjardin lab at San Francisco State University studying the evolution of wood decaying mushrooms (Marasmius) from Madagascar. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Sexton and Frank labs in the Quantitative and Systems Biology Program at the University of California, Merced. This interdisciplinary team has set out to uncover the mystery behind the Monkeyflower microbiome and discover whether these microbes influence their plant hosts across its range.  Topics Covered:  From Urban Dweller to Forest Lover  Desjardin Lab at SFSU  Marasmius Research in Madagascar  Unseen Ecological Importance of Saprobic Fungi  Fungal Genetics  Importance of "ITS" Region in Fungal Gene Sequencing  Discovering New Species of Marasmius  Monkeyflower Microbiome  Bioinformatics  Endophytes Defined  Endophytes and Climate Change  Mysteries of "Dark" Endophytes  We Need More Mycologists!  New Pedagogic Career Path & Future Plans  Episode Resources:Jackie Shay Website: https://www.jackieshay.com/  Castilleja miniata: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilleja_miniataMarasmius (Fungi Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MarasmiusDesjardin Lab SFSU: http://biology.sfsu.edu/people/dennis-desjardin  Mimulus "Monkeyflower" (Plant Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MimulusSexton and Frank labs UC Merced: http://sextonlab.ucmerced.edu/  Merced Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning: https://cetl.ucmerced.edu/Cordyceps (Fungi Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyceps