Dr. A. Elizabeth Arnold
Division of Plant Pathology and Microbiology
Assistant Professor &
Curator, Gilbertson Mycological Herbarium

Herring Hall
Phone: 520-621-7212
Email: arnold@ag.arizona.edu
 

Visit these web-sites to learn more about Dr. Arnold and her research

 

   
Background and Interests
 
I'm an evolutionary ecologist broadly interested in the evolution of plant-fungal symbioses. I use classic microbiological methods, ecological sampling techniques, molecular tools, and the robust framework of phylogenetic biology to understand fungal biodiversity, the ecological roles and evolutionary importance of cryptic microfungi, and the evolution of symbiotic lifestyles across the fungal tree of life. I am especially interested in tropical mycology, with a focus on fungal endophytes of tropical trees.

Fungal endophytes - fungi that inhabit plant tissues without causing disease - are ubiquitous in leaves of plants, but their ecological roles are largely unexplored. In the context of an interdisciplinary research program focusing on diverse elements of endophyte ecology, evolution, and systematics, my current projects include (1) assessing the roles of endophytes in influencing the chemistry, nutritive value, and development of leaves, thereby shaping patterns of herbivory by folivorous insects; (2) determining the degree to which tropical plants host entomopathogenic fungi as endophytes, and examining such associations in the context of cryptic plant defenses; (3) large scale assessments of microfungal biodiversity in altered landscapes, and the fungal communities of introduced (both desirable and invasive) plants; (4) examination of broad-scale coevolution between microfungi and photosynthetic organisms; and (5) collaborative projects assessing the ecological roles of endophytic fungi in lichens (endolichenic fungi). Work in my lab also centers on a variety of systematics-oriented projects that lend themselves well to the study of insect, plant, and fungal interactions.
 
Publications
 

Gallery RE, Dalling JW, Arnold AE. Mar 2007. Diversity, host affinity, and distribution of seed-infecting fungi: a case study with Cecropia. Ecology, 88:582-8

Arnold AE, Lutzoni F. Mar 2007. Diversity and host range of foliar fungal endophytes: are tropical leaves biodiversity hotspots?. Ecology, 88:541-9

Miadlikowska J, Kauff F, Hofstetter V, Fraker E, Grube M, Hafellner J, Reeb V, Hodkinson BP, Kukwa M, Lücking R, Hestmark G, Otalora MG, Rauhut A, Büdel B, Scheidegger C, Timdal E, Stenroos S, B. Dec 2006. New insights into classification and evolution of the Lecanoromycetes (Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota) from phylogenetic analyses of three ribosomal RNA- and two protein-coding genes. Mycologia, 98:1088-103

Spatafora, J.W., Schoch, C. Johnson, D., Sung, G.H., Hosaka, K., O’Rourke, B., Serdani, M., Spotts, R., Lutzoni, F., Hofstetter, V., Fraker, E., Gueidan, C., Miadlikowska, J., Reeb, V., Saunder. Nov 2006. .

James TY, Kauff F, Schoch CL, Matheny PB, Hofstetter V, Cox CJ, Celio G, Gueidan C, Fraker E, Miadlikowska J, Lumbsch HT, Rauhut A, Reeb V, Arnold AE, Amtoft A, Stajich JE, Hosaka K, Sung GH, Johnson. Oct 2006. Reconstructing the early evolution of Fungi using a six-gene phylogeny. Nature, 443:818-22

Higgins KL, Arnold AE, Miadlikowska J, Sarvate SD, Lutzoni F. Jul 2006. Phylogenetic relationships, host affinity, and geographic structure of boreal and arctic endophytes from three major plant lineages. Mol Phylogenet Evol,2006 Jul 26;

Lutzoni, F., F. Kauff, C. Cox, D. McLaughlin, G. Celio, B. Dentinger, M. Padamsee, D. Hibbett, T.Y. James, E. Baloch, M. Grube, V. Reeb, V. Hofstetter, C. Schoch, A.E. Arnold, J. Miadlikowska..... Oct 2004. Assembling the fungal tree of life: progress, classification, and the evolution of subcellular traits. American Journal of Botany, 91:1446-1480

Arnold, A.E., L. Mejía, D. Kyllo, E. Rojas, Z. Maynard and E.A. Herre. Dec 2003. Fungal endophytes limit pathogen damage in leaves of a tropical tree. PNAS, 100:15649-15654

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