Penicillium fagi P1SB was isolated from a Pinus
ponderosa needle on the University of Colorado Denver campus
by Sara Branco as part of the MycoEd program. Myco-Ed (Mycological Curriculum
for Education and Discovery) is a Course-Based Undergraduate
Research Experience (CURE) which seeks to enhance fungal biology
and genomics training in undergraduate teaching labs. In this
program, students isolate environmental fungi, phenotype them and
analyze results in the lab. Then, through a collaborative effort
between the Arizona
Genomics Institute and the JGI, genomes from a subset of those
cultures are produced. The genomes are then used by students to
learn the basics of comparative genomics and navigation of big data
platforms. Beyond -omics training, the data generated as part of
this work will improve the quality and breadth of publicly
available fungal genomes, and allow students to directly contribute
to impactful genome science. This CURE is designed to be both
accessible and flexible. Regardless of institutional facilities,
instructors can participate at any stage of the Myco-Ed workflow
and all protocols/training modules are freely available.
Students are welcome to pursue honors theses or research for
peer-review publication using any Myco-Ed produced genome. If
this is the case, to facilitate coordination amongst participants
please contact Stephen Mondo ([email protected]), the student who
isolated the genome(s) and their instructor (see the Collaborators
section on the Info page for contact details).
Interested in getting involved in Myco-Ed? Please contact Stephen
Mondo ([email protected]) to
learn more!
