Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are joined by Dr. Michael Perlin, Professor in Biology at the University of Louisville. Dr. Perlin’s interests drew him to study host/pathogen interactions at the University of Chicago and his PhD work centered on the evolution of bacterial resistance to certain classes of antibiotics/antimicrobials. As he was near to completing his degree, a friend of his stopped by the lab and introduced him to a different microbial system: a fungal pathogen that infects flowering species in the Carnation family and replaces the pollen of the flower with fungal spores. From that point he was hooked. Over the years he has continued to work on bacterial resistance, but in the last 10 years, he has shifted the focus of his lab exclusively to that on fungal plant pathogens, with projects encompassing three different types of pathogens on different hosts and the use of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a model tool in the exploration of some questions more easily investigated in this well-developed system. Dr. Perlin has roughly 70 peer-reviewed scientific articles in reputable journals, including Nature; mBio; BMC Genomics; Genes, Genomes, Genetics (GGG); Fungal Genetics and Biology; Journal of Bacteriology; Eukaryotic Cell; and Molecular Microbiology. As a member of a number of scientific organizations and a prolific teacher and mentor, Dr. Perlin has a far-reaching influence on his field and has directly played a role in the careers of many PhD students. I’m excited to learn more about how fungal phytopathogens that have a massive impact on human culture.
TOPICS COVERED:
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Ep. 176: Biochar, Soil Remedation & the Community Agriculture Project (feat. Emily Davis)
Ep. 175: Farwest Fungi & The Santa Cruz Mountain Mushroom Festival (feat. Kyle Garrone)
Ep. 174: All Things Fungi Festival - Myco-Culture, Slime Molds, Biofluorescence (feat. Jana Nicole & Max Mudie)
Ep. 173: Forage. Gather. Feast. - Truffles, Seasonal Harvests & Uncertain Futures (feat. Maria Finn)
Ep. 172: The Very Merry Mushrooms - Mycology for All Ages, Learning through Play (feat. Tess Lassman)
Ep. 171: A Magical Dutchman's Journey - Building Community at Fungi Academy (feat. Jasper Degenaars)
Ep. 170: Oklahoma Fungi - Building Future Generations of Mycologists (feat. Jacob Devecchio)
Ep. 169: Mycological Analytics, Community Science, Entheogenic Genomes (Ian Bollinger)
Ep. 168: The Myco Zine - Psychedelic Chemistry, Mushroom Cultivation, Mycelial Connections (Tomás Garret)
Ep. 167: Behind the Scenes & Across the Universe with William Padilla-Brown
Ep. 166: Mycosymbiote - Regenerating Ecologies, Expanding Consciousness, Being Human (William Padilla-Brown)
Ep. 165: Hongos in Patagonia - Pedomorphosis & Rethinking Evolution (feat. Dr. Francisco Kuhar)
Ep. 164: Which Fungi - The Edibles, The Deadlies, The Wild Ones (feat. Elise Rothman)
Ep. 163: Fruits of the Forest - Pacific Northwest Edible Mushrooms (feat. Daniel Winkler)
Ep. 162: The Flowering Wand - Rewilding the Sacred Masculine (feat. Sophie Strand)
Ep. 161: Minnesota's Mushroom Valley - Mushroom Caves & the Unexplored Underworld (feat. Dr. Greg Brick)
Ep. 160: Osmose Studio - Biomaterials Reimagined, Mycelium Futures & Regenerative Design (feat. Ashley Granter & Aurelie Fontan)
Ep. 159: Mycorrhizal Ecology, Soil Biodiversity & Political Instability in South America (feat. Dr. César Marin)
Ep. 158: The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi - Exploring the Microscopic World in Our Forests, Homes & Bodies (feat. Dr. Keith Seifert)
Ep. 157: Psychedelic Adventures into Microscopic Mushroom Worlds (feat. Irene Antonez)
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