fungal-genomics
Fungal genomics is the large-scale study of fungal genomes, encompassing gene content, structure, and evolutionary relationships across fungal species. In plant science, it is essential for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant-fungal interactions, including both mutualistic partnerships like mycorrhizae and destructive pathogens responsible for major crop diseases. Decoding fungal genomes enables researchers to identify virulence factors, resistance targets, and symbiotic pathways that inform strategies for protecting and enhancing plant health.
PubMed · 2026-04-02
Scientists developed a new machine-learning method called EvoDA that can better identify how traits evolve across species over time, outperforming traditional statistical approaches — especially when data contains measurement errors.
EvoDA (Evolutionary Discriminant Analysis) significantly outperforms conventional model selection methods, especially when trait data contains measurement error — a common real-world condition.
Analysis of fungal gene expression found that stabilizing selection (keeping traits stable) acts on the majority of genes.
A small subset of genes showed bursts of rapid evolutionary change, particularly those linked to stress response, cellular transport, and transcription regulation.