Åsa Kruys, Post-doc

Research

I study two very closely related and highly diverse families of sac-fungi; Lasiosphaeriaceae and Sordariaceae (Sordariales, Ascomycota). They contain lignicolous, herbicolous, and coprophilous species, and several economically important model organisms do also belong to these families. Most genera of Lasiosphaeriaceae and Sordariaceae are, however, in urgent need of revision. Current classification is to large extent based on ascospore morphology, which are extremly homoplastic features within these familes. My research aims to solve phylogenetic relationships within and between genera of Lasiosphaeriaceae and Sordariaceae and relate phylogenies to current classification.

My project is funded by ArtDatabanken as a part of The Swedish Taxonomy Initiative.

A part of my project is carried out in collaboration with Andrew Miller, INHS.

Main academic interests

Ascomycete systematics and evolution, especially members of Dothideomycetes and Sordariomycetes
Biodiversity and conservation of fungi
The biology of coprophilous organisms

Education and previous positions

I have a MSc in Biology (1998) and a PhD in Systematics (2005) from Umeå University, Sweden. I have also worked as a post-doc for Dr. Andrew Miller at the Illinois Natural History Survey in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois in 2006 before I started my current project in 2007.