The Minnesota Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation
Leticia Kumar
College and major
Short biography
Last year I transferred to the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota to major in plant biology. Courses introduced me to the diverse array of organisms covered under the plant biology umbrella such as algae, fungi, and, of course, plants. While classes educated me on the biology of these organisms, research projects of the last semester and this summer have provided experience with many of the techniques commonly used in research labs of the plant sciences. Overall, the experiences of this last year have sparked my interest in plant pathology and plant breeding. Upon graduation next year, my next step will be graduate school.
Research and collaborators
Project Title: Evolution and Systematics of Pachyphloeus
Professor and Graduate Student: Dr. David McLaughlin and Rosanne Healy
Whether having taken a mycology course or not, many people have heard of truffles, a particular fruiting body of some mycorrhizal fungi. As it so happens, the focus of my research project this summer is the truffle genus, Pachyphloeus. Some details of Pachyphloeus have been established, such as its lifestyle as a fungal symbiont with oak trees in temperate woodlands across the world, including North America and, more locally, Minnesota. This has provided an excellent opportunity to study some of the more obscure details of this truffle since its taxonomic status is yet unresolved and it is unknown if this fungus associates with other plants besides oak. While the ultimate goal is to resolve the taxonomic status of Pachyphloeus, it is hoped that this research will also contribute to the better understanding of fungal fruiting body evolution and add new mycorrhizal sequences to GenBank.