Fernando Fernandez, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Botany
The Field Museum
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Education:
- Ph. D., Mycology/Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, 1994.
M. S., Plant Pathology, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, 1991.
B. S., Plant Pathology, University of Florida, 1985.
A. A., Biology, Miami-Dade Community College, 1983.
Research Interests:
- Systematics and biogeography of the genus Chaetosphaeria and allied genera.
Current Research:
- My interest in the biology and ecology of Ascomycetes has led me to obtain a broad training in some of the basic aspects of these organisms, particularly their identification and isolation from various substrates such as soil, leaf litter, and chicken litter. I am currently involved in a project studying the systematics and biogeography of the Lasiosphaeriaceae, a poorly known family of the Ascomycetes. Within this family, I have concentrated on the genus Chaetosphaeria. The few existing reports and taxonomic studies on this genus are mainly from Europe although it is commonly found, not only in the continental United States but in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica as well. These fungi might be important in the process of natural litter decomposition since they are commonly found on decaying substrates, particularly wood. However, the identification of species of Chaetosphaeria is particularly challenging because despite their simple morphology in nature, they are highly variable in culture media under laboratory conditions.
The main goals of this project are to: a) survey the number and abundance of members of the Lasiosphaeriaceae, particularly species of Chaetosphaeria, in the U.S. A., Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador, b) establish possible phylogenetic relationships among these fungi by using morphological and DNA sequencing studies. In order to achieve these goals I have identified most of our collections of Chaetosphaeria to species, have extensively cultured some of these species in artificial media, and have generated preliminary DNA sequences for some of these species. Collection data is already providing important information on occurrence and abundance of these fungi in temperate and tropical areas.
Selected Publications:
- 1988. (with R. D. McClary and J. B. Sinclair). Fungicide and Nematicide Tests 44: 210.
1991. Cercospora kikuchii in soybeans, its interaction with Phomopsis, microcycle conidiation and nuclear behavior during conidiogenesis. Master's thesis, University of Illinois. Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
1991. (with D. A. Glawe and J. B. Sinclair). Microcycle conidiation and nuclear behavior during conidiogenesis in Cercospora kikuchii. Mycologia 83: 752757.
1994. Taxonomic studies of the Diaporthe phaseolorum complex in soybean. Doctoral dissertation, University of Georgia. Athens, Georgia.
1996. (with R. T. Hanlin). Morphological and RAPD analyses of Diaporthe phaseolorum from soybean. Mycologia 88: 425-440.
1996. (with C. Riegel and J. P. Noe). Meloidogyne incognita infested soil amended with chicken litter. Journal of Nematology 28: 369-378.
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