Assistant Curator, Lichenology, Department of Botany, Field Museum; Lecturer, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago; Adjunct Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago.

Education:

B.Sc., Bio-Agronomy, Université Laval, Canada, 1987.
M.Sc., Biology, University of Ottawa, Canada, 1990.
Ph.D., Botany/Genetics, Duke University, 1995.

Awards:

Associate Editor, Canadian Journal of Botany.
Editorial Board, Systematic Biology, 1998-present.
Editorial Board, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 1998-present.
Deputy Treasurer, International Association for Lichenology, 1997-2000.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Biology, Indiana University at Bloomington, 1996.
Twelfth Annual Perry Prize, Department of Botany, Duke University, 1996.
A. W. Mellon Program in Plant Systematics Dissertation Fellowship, Duke University, 1995.
A.W. Mellon Junior Fellow, Laboratory of Molecular Systematics, Smithsonian Institution, 1994.
Mycological Society of America Graduate Fellowship, 1993.
New England Botanical Club Award for the Support of Botanical Research, 1992.
A. J. Sharp Award, American Bryological and Lichenological Society, 1989.
Lionel Cinq-Mars Award, Honorable Mention, Canadian Botanical Association, 1989.

Research Interests:

Molecular and morphological systematics of lichen-forming fungi, and evolutionary studies of symbiosis using lichens as model systems.

Current Research:

My research interest is centered on lichens and symbiosis. It covers five major topics: i) floristics and systematics of lichens using both morphological and molecular data. ii) requirements and consequences for a transition to mutualism during the evolution of fungi; this work is done on a model system including both lichen-forming and closely related non-lichenized Omphalina species. Data from this model system are gathered through in vitro experiments and molecular evolutionary studies. The data generated are analyzed using comparative methods. iii) macroevolutionary studies of lichenized and non-lichenized Ascomycetes; this research project is aimed toward a better understanding of the relationships among orders of ascomycetes using molecular and morphological data sets. iv) phylogenetic reconstruction theory; I am interested more specifically in combinability testing methods and problems associated with resolving phylogenetic relationships among many taxa. As we try to solve phylogenetic relationships among larger numbers of taxa, the need for multiple data sets becomes increasingly acute. Combinability testing is not only a way to determine if data sets should be combined in their entirety, but is also a tool for exploring the specific characteristics of each data set that cause phylogenetic incongruence. v) cospeciation between lichen-forming fungal species and their algal symbiont Coccomyxa (Chlorophyta); I am currently addressing this issue by sequencing the same genes in both the fungal and algal partners of distinct lichen populations for different lichen species. I would be pleased to supervise students interested in any of the topics mentioned above.

Selected Publications:

1995. Lutzoni, F. and Vilgalys, R. Integration of morphological and molecular data sets in estimating fungal phylogenies. Canadian Journal of Botany 73(Suppl. 1): S649-S659.

1995. Lutzoni, F. M. and Vilgalys, R. Omphalina (Basidiomycota, Agaricales) as a model system for the study of coevolution in lichenized fungi. Special Issue of Cryptogamic Botany 5: 82-97.

1995. Lutzoni, F. M. and Brodo, I. M. A generic redelimitation of the Ionaspis-Hymenelia complex (lichenized Ascomycotina). Systematic Botany 20: 224-258.

1997. Lutzoni, F. and Pagel, M. Accelerated evolution as a consequence of transitions to mutualism. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 94:11422-11427. This PNAS paper was the subject of an article published on the ScienceNow (AAAS) website.

1997. Lutzoni, F. Phylogeny of lichen- and non lichen-forming omphalinoid mushrooms and the utility of testing for combinability among multiple data sets. Systematic Biology 46:373-406 (journal cover).

1999. Kranner, I and Lutzoni, F. Evolutionary consequences of transition to a lichen symbiotic state and physiological adaptation to oxidative damage associated with poikilohydry, pp. 591-628 in: Plant response to environmental stresses: From phytohormones to genome reorganization. H. R. Lerner (ed.). Marcel Dekker, New York.

1999. Fernandez, A., F. Lutzoni and S. M. Huhndorf. Teleomorph-anamorph connections: the new pyrenomycetous genus Carpoligna and its Pleurothecium anamorph. Mycologia 91:251-262.

1999. Lutzoni, F. and F.K. Barker. Sampling confidence envelopes of phylogenetic trees for combinability testing: A reply to Rodrigo. Systematic Biology 48: 596-603.

1999. Zoller, S., F. Lutzoni, and C. Scheidegger. Genetic variablility within and among populations of the threatened foliose lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. in Switzerland. Molecular Ecology 8: in press.

1999. Montcalvo, J.M., F. Lutzoni, S. Rehner, J. Johnson, and R. Vilgalys. Molecular phylogeny of the Agaricales based on 25S rNDA sequences. Systematic Biology 48: in press.

2000. Lutzoni, F., P. Wagner, and V. Reeb. Integrating ambiguously aligned regions of DNA sequences in phylogenetic analyses without violating positional homology. Systematic Biology 49: in press.

Current Position:

www.lutzonilab.net