Fungal Bioinformatics

I work on the fungal diversity with the description of news species, fungal taxonomy and phylogeny, metabarcoding, as well as the assessment of the fungal toxicity in West Africa. In addition, I study the effect of climate change on the soil microbial community.

I am soil scientist and agronomic ecologist who is infinitely amazed by the environment—its beauty and vastness. My research seeks to particularly understand the biological and physiological underlying mechanisms and responses of plants to the cause-and-effect relationship between plants and microbes, especially AMF.

I am working on how environmental changes such as forest expansion or tree line movement impact the underground microbial communities and their role in ecosystem processes

Taxonomy, Biodiversity, Metabarcoding of Fern and Mycorrhizal Diversity.

My research focuses on spatial and temporal dynamics of fungal and arthropod communities within anthropogenic environments. By utilizing high-throughput sequencing and collaborating with citizen scientists, we aim to enhance our grasp of microbial distribution, identify influential factors, and unravel intricate interactions among diverse microbial taxa within urban and rural ecosystems.

My PhD research thesis aims to understand the influence of Biochar & Biochar- fertilizer applications on indigenous Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi diversity, Phosphorus solubilization and maize growth in Kwale (semi arid coastal areas with ferralsols) and Embu (Highland areas with Humic Nitisols) counties in Kenya.

I am a postdoctoral researcher at both ETH Zurich and SPUN, and I work with global-scale models to better understand the ecology and distribution of fungi around the world. I also work with eDNA from soils to improve our understanding of how fungal communities influence forest ecosystems (particularly with ectomycorrhizal fungi), as well as glasshouse experiments (involving both ectomycorrhiza and ericoid mycorrhizae).

I explore mycorrhizal and nitrogen-fixing associations by mapping the diversity of tree symbiotic guilds and their fungal and bacterial partners in Australian forests. My research spans national (all forests) to bioregional (broad-leaf temperate forests) scales. I aim to identify diversity hot-spots and primary global change threats to these vital partnerships.

Niloufar Hagh Doust is an ecologist with a special interest in fungal ecology, forest ecology, community ecology, plant-microbe interactions, beneficial symbionts, climate change, and carbon & nutrient cycling. Her research mostly focuses on the ecology of plant-associated microbes (Especially fungi) and their potential benefits in forestry and agriculture.

My research is primarily focused on edible ectomycorrhizal species and how we can develop cultivation of these novel crops. Other topics include: the response of species to climate change, community assemblages, interaction/dependence between different species and the distribution of genetic material in time and space (eg. mycophagy interactions).

I study AM fungi, ancient biotrophic fungi vital for plant nutrient uptake. Despite significance, their genetics remain elusive. I developed single nucleus isolation protocol to address this knowledge gap. Additionally, I explore mycorrhizal symbiosis in Parasponia-Trema, which parallels nodule symbiosis, to understand the evolution of symbiotic traits in plant-microbe relationships.

My research explores the impacts of domestic and wild megaherbivores on mycorrhizal dynamics and ecosystem carbon balance in tropical and boreal systems. I apply methods across soil ecology, biogeochemistry, ecosystem ecology, and conservation biology to assess how animals mediate aboveground/belowground processes and can be incorporated into nature-based climate solutions.

My research focuses on mycorrhizal community ecology under climate change. By using high-throughput sequencing, I am trying to understand the natural diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, unravel their responses to shifting climates, and uncover their crucial ecological functions in these changing environments.