Fungi are one of the most diverse groups of living organisms. In fact, life on Earth depends on fungi, due to their nutrient recycling function. Fungi are mushrooms, molds and yeasts, amongst many others. Despite their apparent simplicity, fungi conceal fascinating clues to organismal adaptation to varying environments.

All living organisms evolve incessantly with the goal of eating and reproducing. Unfortunately for us, humans, as well as for various animals, plants and microbes, some fungi need to trigger infections in order to thrive. Many of these infections are deadly and economically costly. While treatments do exist, their success if often hindered by what is known as antifungal drug resistance. In other words, infective fungal cells may become insensitive to the therapy. We want to understand how and why this occurs, from a genetic and evolutionary point of view.

Neurospora crassa is an Ascomycota fungus. This species has been domesticated in the laboratory for decades and is considered one of the main drivers of the field of molecular genetics. Neurospora crassa is non-pathogenic and easy to grow. Thousands of mutants and wild isolates of Neurospora crassa are available. We want to take advantage of this rich collection of strains and harness the power of genetics and genomics to help mitigate the far-reaching problem of antifungal drug resistance.