Rytas J. Vilgalys

About

Rytas J. Vilgalys is a Professor of Biology at Duke University, with a focus on mycology, including systematics, evolution, medical mycology, plant pathology, genetics/genomics, and ecology. He is best known for his involvement in transitioning fungal systematics from a non-quantitative, morphologically based science to a rigorous genome-based discipline. Over the past 20 years, his lab has increasingly studied fungal 'ecogenomics' using targeted and shotgun metagenomics, linking molecular function with fungal diversity. In collaboration with medical mycologists and basic scientists at Duke Medical Center, he has contributed to integrating an evolutionary biology perspective into the study of human mycoses. His academic appointments include being a Professor of Biology since 2000 and a Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology since 2024. Vilgalys holds a Ph.D. from Virginia Polytech Institute and State University, earned in 1985, and has a background in genetics and mycology, with earlier degrees from the State University of New York, Geneseo.

Research topics

• Biology
• Genetics
• Computational biology
• Evolutionary biology
• Botany
• Horticulture
• Zoology
• Ecology
• Agronomy

Selected publications

• Large-scale genome sequencing of mycorrhizal fungi provides insights into the early evolution of symbiotic traits

  Nature Communications · 2020 · 500 citations

  Mycorrhizal fungi are mutualists that play crucial roles in nutrient acquisition in terrestrial ecosystems. Mycorrhizal symbioses arose repeatedly across multiple lineages of Mucoromycotina, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota. Considerable variation exists in the capacity of mycorrhizal fungi to acquire carbon from soil organic matter. Here, we present a combined analysis of 135 fungal genomes from 73 saprotrophic, endophytic and pathogenic species, and 62 mycorrhizal species, including 29 new mycorr…

  DOI

• Mortierella elongata Increases Plant Biomass among Non-Leguminous Crop Species

  Agronomy · 2020 · 83 citations

  Recent studies have shown that M. elongata (M. elongata) isolated from Populus field sites has a dual endophyte–saprotroph lifestyle and is able to promote the growth of Populus. However, little is known about the host fidelity of M. elongata and whether M. elongata strains differ from one another in their ability to promote plant growth. Here, we compared the impacts of three Populus-associated M. elongata isolates (PMI 77, PMI 93, and PMI 624) on the growth of seven different crop species by m…

  DOI

• Comparative genomics reveals dynamic genome evolution in host specialist ectomycorrhizal fungi

  New Phytologist · 2020 · 80 citations

  While there has been significant progress characterizing the 'symbiotic toolkit' of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, how host specificity may be encoded into ECM fungal genomes remains poorly understood. We conducted a comparative genomic analysis of ECM fungal host specialists and generalists, focusing on the specialist genus Suillus. Global analyses of genome dynamics across 46 species were assessed, along with targeted analyses of three classes of molecules previously identified as important dete…

  DOI

• Thousands of small, novel genes predicted in global phage genomes

  Cell Reports · 2022 · 55 citations

  Small genes (<150 nucleotides) have been systematically overlooked in phage genomes. We employ a large-scale comparative genomics approach to predict >40,000 small-gene families in ∼2.3 million phage genome contigs. We find that small genes in phage genomes are approximately 3-fold more prevalent than in host prokaryotic genomes. Our approach enriches for small genes that are translated in microbiomes, suggesting the small genes identified are coding. More than 9,000 families encode potentially…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• <i>Suillus</i>: an emerging model for the study of ectomycorrhizal ecology and evolution

  New Phytologist · 2024-04-06 · 39 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Research on mycorrhizal symbiosis has been slowed by a lack of established study systems. To address this challenge, we have been developing Suillus, a widespread ecologically and economically relevant fungal genus primarily associated with the plant family Pinaceae, into a model system for studying ectomycorrhizal (ECM) associations. Over the last decade, we have compiled extensive genomic resources, culture libraries, a phenotype database, and protocols for manipulating Suillus fungi with and…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Phylogenetic Systematics and Diversity of the Agaricales Fungi

  NSF · $226k · 2000–2003

• DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Coevolutionary Diversification in Septobasidium, a Fungal Symbiont of Scale Insects

  NSF · $12k · 2004–2006

• The Agaricales: Molecular Systematics and Evolution of Mushrooms

  NSF · $218k · 1997–2001

Frequent coauthors

• Hui-ling Liao

  264 shared

• Colin Averill

  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  247 shared

• Ryan Tappero

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  220 shared

• Jennifer Bhatnagar

  Boston University

  219 shared

• Haihua Wang

  218 shared

• Edward Brzostek

  West Virginia University

  217 shared

• Nahuel Policelli

  Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagónico

  197 shared

• Thomas G. Mitchell

  78 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Biology

  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• B.A., Biology

  SUNY Geneseo

Similar researchers at Duke University

• Susan C. Albertsh-110
• Xinnian Dongh-103
• Gregory Allan Wrayh-70