Dr. J. Geml
Assistant Professor
- Contact information
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
- Main research interests
Key-words: arctic fungi, biodiversity, molecular systematics, mycology, phylogeography
My motivation for research has always been the desire to explore, document, and conserve the richness of nature, particularly its biological diversity. Understanding what species are and how they form is central to efforts to preserve biodiversity. I have been using cutting-edge, DNA-based methods to study biodiversity at different levels:
1) applying phylogeography, population genetics, and coalescent methods to better understand the processes of speciation;
2) inferring systematics of various genera from a combined molecular and morphological approach; and;
3) conducting DNA-based large-scale biodiversity assessments of various communities using metagenomics.My current research focuses on the biodiversity and phylogeography of arctic fungi. The arctic tundra is on the brink of significant changes and there are serious concerns among researchers and the public alike related to the future of arctic biodiversity. Despite the critical roles fungi play in the functioning of arctic ecosystems, especially as symbionts of plants and recyclers of organic matter, their biodiversity and ecology are poorly known in high-latitude regions. I combine large-scale DNA sequence data of soil fungal communities with in-depth, collection-based taxonomic work (including multi-locus phylogenetics and morphological data analyses) to assess the biodiversity of fungal communities in the Arctic, utilizing the complementary strengths of systematics and metagenomics. In addition, I apply phylogenetic and coalescent methods to study speciation and phylogeography in arctic and boreal fungi with potential applications of pinpointing hot spots of genetic biodiversity for nature conservation and improving inferences concerning glacial refugia.
Main national and international partners of my research:
- Dr. C. Brochmann, National Centre for Biosystematics, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Dr. P. Crous, CBS Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Dr. F. Kauff, Department of Molecular Phylogenetics, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
- Dr G. Laursen, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, U.S.A.
- Dr. F. Lutzoni, Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, U.S.A.
- Dr. N. Sazanova, Laboratory of Botany, Institute of Biological Problems of the North, Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, Russia
- Dr. D. L. Taylor, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, U.S.A.
- Dr. R. E. Tulloss, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY, U.S.A.
- Dr. M. Zhurbenko, Komarov Botanical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Publications
Articles in refereed SCI journals
Geml J, Kauff F, Brochmann C, Lutzoni F, Laursen GA, Redhead SA, Taylor DL. Frequent circumpolar and rare transequatorial dispersals in the lichenised agaric genus Lichenomphalia (Hygrophoraceae, Basidiomycota) Fungal Biology IF: 2.921 (in press)Geml J, Timling I, Robinson CH, Lennon N, Nusbaum HC, Brochmann C, Noordeloos ME, Taylor DL. 2011. An arctic community of symbiotic fungi assembled by long-distance dispersers: phylogenetic diversity of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes in Svalbard based on soil and sporocarp DNA. Journal of Biogeography doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02588.x IF: 4.273
Bjorbækmo MFM, Carlsen T, Brysting A, Vrålstad T, Høiland K, Ugland KI, Geml J, Schumacher T, Kauserud H. 2010. High diversity of root associated fungi in both alpine and arctic Dryas octopetala. BMC Plant Biology, doi:10.1186/1471-2229-10-244. IF: 4.09
Geml J, Laursen GA, Herriott I, McFarland JM, Booth MG, Lennon N, Nusbaum HC, Taylor DL. 2010. Phylogenetic and ecological analyses of soil and sporocarp DNA sequences reveal high diversity and strong habitat partitioning in the boreal ectomycorrhizal genus Russula Pers. (Russulales; Basidiomycota). New Phytologist 187:494-507. IF: 6.516
Geml J, Kauff F, Brochmann C, Taylor DL. 2010. Surviving climate changes: High genetic diversity and transoceanic gene flow in two arctic-alpine lichens, Flavocetraria cucullata and F. nivalis (Parmeliaceae, Ascomycota) Journal of Biogeography 37:1529-1542. IF: 4.273
Geml J, Laursen GA, Timling I, McFarland JM, Booth MG, Lennon N, Nusbaum HC, Taylor DL. 2009. Molecular phylogenetic biodiversity assessment of arctic and boreal Lactarius Pers. (Russulales; Basidiomycota) in Alaska, based on soil and sporocarp DNA. Molecular Ecology 18:2213-2227. IF: 5.96
Geml J, Tulloss RE, Laursen GA, Sazanova NA, Taylor DL. 2008. Evidence for strong inter- and intracontinental phylogeographic structure in Amanita muscaria, a wind-dispersed ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48:694-701. IF: 3.994
Bidartondo, MI; Bruns, TD; Blackwell, M, ... Geml J ... et al. 2008. Preserving accuracy in GenBank. Science 319:1616-1616. IF: 28.103
Geml J, Laursen GA, Taylor DL. 2008. Molecular phylogenetic diversity assessment of arctic and boreal Agaricus taxa. Mycologia 100:577-589. IF: 2.359
Geml J, Laursen GA, Nusbaum HC, Taylor DL. 2007. Two new species of Agaricus from the Subantartic. Mycotaxon 100:193-208. IF: 0.535
Hosaka K, Bates S, Beever R, Castellano M, Colgan W, Dominguez L, Nouhra E, Geml J, Giachini A, Kenney S, Simpson N, Trappe J. 2006. Molecular phylogenetics of the gomphoid-phalloid fungi with an establishment of the new subclass Phallomycetidae and two new orders. Mycologia 98:949-959. IF: 2.359
Geml J, Laursen GA, O’Neill K, Nusbaum HC, Taylor DL. 2006. Beringian origins and cryptic speciation events in the Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). Molecular Ecology 15:225-293. IF: 5.325
Geml J, Davis DD, Geiser DM. 2005. Systematics of the genus Sphaerobolus based on molecular and morphological data, with the description of Sphaerobolus ingoldii sp. nov. Mycologia 97:680-694. IF: 2.359
Geml J, Davis DD, Geiser DM. 2005. Phylogenetic analyses reveal deeply divergent species lineages in the genus Sphaerobolus (Phallales: Basidiomycota). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35:313-322. IF: 3.994
Geml J, Geiser DM, Royse DJ. 2004. Molecular evolution of Agaricus species based on ITS and LSU rDNA sequences. Mycological Progress 3:157-176. IF: 1.791
Books, or contributions to books
Geml J. 2011. Coalescent analyses reveal contrasting patterns of inter-continental gene flow in arctic-alpine and boreal-temperate fungi. In: Biogeography of microscopic organisms – Is everything everywhere? (Ed. Fontaneto D) Cambridge University Press, p. 175-190.Geml J, Kauff F, Laursen GA, Taylor DL. 2010. Genetic studies point to Beringia as a biodiversity ‘hotspot’ for high-latitude fungi. In: Alaska Park Science: Natural and Cultural Heritage of Greater Beringia (Ed. Winfree RA), National Park Service, Alaska Regional Office, p. 37-41.
Geml J, Tulloss RE, Laursen GA, Sazanova NA, Taylor DL. 2009. Phylogeographic analyses of a boreal-temperate ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete, Amanita muscaria, suggest forest refugia in Alaska during the Last Glacial Maximum. In: Surviving on Changing Climate – Phylogeography and Conservation of Postglacial Relicts. (Ed. Habel J), Springer p. 173-189.
- Other relevant information
Reviewer for scientific journals:
American Journal of Botany
BMC Evolutionary Biology
Evolution
Fungal Biology (former Mycological Research)
Fungal Diversity Journal of Biogeography
Journal of Biogeography
Microbial Ecology
Molecular Ecology
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
Mycologia
New Phytologist Northeastern Naturalist
