Henrik Lantz
PhD, Post Doc
Research
My project deals with the taxonomy and phylogeny of the fungal order Rhytismatales. These fungi occur on leaves or twigs of many common plants such as pine and blueberry, and are very common in Sweden and in many other countries. In the picture above you can see several fruiting bodies of Lophodermium melaleucum on the underside of a leaf of the common lingonberry.
Despite the fact that they are so common, we still know very little about them, and I am currently busy answering several questions:
- Which species occur in Sweden and where can they be found?
- How are the species of Rhytismatales related? To answer this question I am sampling material from all over the world.
- When do the Swedish species sporulate and which type of habitat do they prefer?
- How are the Swedish species best delimited?
For my phylogenetic work I use several molecular markers, mainly nrLSU, mrSSU, and RPB2. I am using the phylogenies to create a taxonomy of the order that is correlated with the phylogeny, and am also interested in using the phylogeny to answer questions about host-specificity, dispersal, and the evolution of parasitism.
I am funded by the Swedish Taxonomy Initiative. The aim of this project is to describe all multi-cellular organisms of Sweden and to publish these descriptions with keys in the book series "The National key of Sweden". Over 100 volumes are planned over a 20 year period which makes this the largest printed publication ever in Sweden.
