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Plant Biology Home

Phone: (612) 625-1234
Fax: (612) 625-1738

Department of Plant Biology
University of Minnesota
250 Biological Science Center
1445 Gortner Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108

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David J. McLaughlin

Professor, Department of Plant Biology
Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley, 1968

Evolution and systematics of higher fungi; ectomycorrhizal community structure

Contact Information

Mailing Address:

Dr. David J. McLaughlin
Department of Plant Biology
University of Minnesota
250 Biological Science Center
1445 Gortner Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108

Office: 776 Biological Sciences Center
Phone: (612) 625-5736
Fax: (612) 625-1738
E-mail: davem@umn.edu

Research Interests

Our research focuses on the analysis of evolution and biodiversity in fungi, especially basidiomycetes. Current projects deal with evolution in relatives of the rust fungi using structural and molecular characters, ectomycorrhizal community structure in oak savannah combining above- and below-ground approaches, phylogeny of some mushroom groups, and a major new project, Assembling the Fungal Tree of Life, which will deal with all groups of Fungi.

Fungal biodiversity is poorly understood. A revolution in knowledge of fungal evolution and systematics is in progress, facilitated by molecular and subcellular characters. Molecular methods also permit analysis of ectomycorrhizal community structure. We analyze mushroom diversity above and below ground in oak savannah and the influence of fire and nitrogen on the structure of the fungal community. We collect and culture fungi locally and in the tropics, and subject them to cytological and molecular analyses to determine phylogenetic relationships and assess structural evolution. Major focus is currently on several mushroom groups, and auricularioid fungi related to the rusts. We are also interested in documenting mushrooms of Minnesota for floristic purposes and to provide a baseline for monitoring environmental change.

In the Assembling the Fungal Tree of Life project, this laboratory will focus on subcellular analysis of true fungi. Besides obtaining new data for under-analyzed groups, web-accessible databases for subcellular and biochemical characters will be developed. This data will be integrated with sequence data for six genes from a large number of fungi. This is a collaborative project involving researchers in four universities and many collaborators in the mycological community to produce a well supported phylogeny of the Fungi.

Frieders, E.M., and D.J. McLaughlin. 2001. The heterobasidiomycete moss parasites Jola and Eocronartium in culture: cytology, ultrastructure, and anamorph. Mycol. Res. 105: 734-744.

Useful Links

Fungal Herbarium
RFLP Database for Ectomycorrhizal Fungi at the Cedar Creek Natural History Area

Selected Publications

Swann, E.C., E.M. Frieders, and D. J. McLaughlin. 2001. Urediniomycetes, in McLaughlin, D.J., E.G. McLaughlin, and P.A. Lemke (eds.). The Mycota. VIIB. Systematics and Evolution. Springer Verlag. Pp. 37-56.

McLaughlin, D.J., E.G. McLaughlin, and P.A. Lemke (eds.). 2001. The Mycota. VIIA. Systematics and Evolution. Springer Verlag. 366pp.

McLaughlin, D.J., E.G. McLaughlin, and P.A. Lemke (eds.). 2001. The Mycota. VIIB. Systematics and Evolution. Springer Verlag. 259pp.

Swann, E.C., E.M. Frieders, and D. J. McLaughlin. 1999. Microbotryum, Kriegeria, and the changing paradigm in basidiomycete classification. Mycologia 91: 51-66.

McLaughlin, D. J., E. M. Frieders, M. E. Berres, J. C. Doubl³s, and S. M. Wick. 1996. Immunofluorescence analysis of the microtubule cytoskeleton in the yeast phase of the basidiomycetes Kriegeria eriophori and Septobasidium carestianum. Mycologia 88: 339-349.

Frieders, E.M., and D.J. McLaughlin. 1996. Mitosis in the yeast phase of Agaricostilbum pulcherrimum and its evolutionary significance. Can. J. Bot. 74:1392-1406.

McLaughlin, D. J. , M. E. Berres, and L. J. Szabo. 1995. Molecules and morphology in basidiomycete phylogeny. Can. J. Bot. 73 (Suppl. 1): S684-S692.

McLaughlin, D. J., E. M. Frieders, and H. S. LÙ. 1995. A microscopistÍs view of heterobasidiomycete phylogeny. Stud. Mycol. 38: 91-109.

Berres, M. E. , L. J. Szabo, and D. J. McLaughlin. 1995. Phylogenetic relationships in auriculariaceous basidiomycetes based on 25S ribosomal DNA sequences. Mycologia 87: 821-840.