Department of Biology

David Hibbett 

David S. Hibbett

Professor of Biology
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program
Clark University
15 Maywood St.
Worcester, MA 01610-1477
Office: room #232
Lab: room #222
Phone: (508) 793-7332
Email:

David Hibbett's Lab Pages

Ph.D. Duke University, 1991
Read Prof. Hibbett's CV

Current Research and Teaching
Phlogiotis image
Trametes image

Fungi are an important, understudied group of eukaryotes. In nature, Fungi function as decomposers, pathogens, and partners in diverse symbioses, such as lichens and mycorrhizae. Fungal morphology encompasses a spectrum of forms, including mushrooms, coral fungi, puffballs, and many others. Despite their morphological variability, Fungi are anatomically simple, and they have a notoriously poor fossil record. Consequently, the evolutionary relationships of Fungi are poorly understood.

In my research, I use comparative analyses of DNA sequences to infer the phylogenetic (evolutionary) relationships of Fungi, concentrating on the mushroom-forming fungi. I am particularly interested in using phylogenetic trees to understand the evolution of fungal morphology and ecological strategies. Other current projects in my lab concern the evolution of enzymes used by fungi in wood decay, and "phyloinformatics." I regularly teach courses in Introductory Biology (team-taught with Dr. Deborah Robertson), First Year Research Seminar, Botanical Diversity, and Biology of Symbiosis. To learn more about my research and teaching interests, please visit my lab web site.

 

Selected Publications

Hibbett,D.S., A.Ohman, and P.M.Kirk.2009. Fungal ecology catches fire. New Phytologist (Commentary) 184:279-282

McLaughlin,D.J.,D.S.Hibbett, F.Lutzoni, J.Spatafora, and R.Vilgalys. 2009. The search for the fungal tree of life. Trends in Microbiology doi:10:1016/j.tim.2009.08.001

Staijch, J., M.L.Berbee, M. Blackwell, D.S.Hibbett, T.Y.James, J.Spatafora, and J.W.Taylor.2009.The Fungi.Current Biology 19: R840-R845.

Nakasone, K.K.,D.S.Hibbett, and G.Goranova. 2009. Neocampanella, a new corticioid fungal genus, and a note on Dendrothele bispora. Botany(formerly Canadian Journal of Botany) 87:875-882.

Hibbett, D.S., and P. B. Matheny. 2009. Relative ages of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms and their plant hosts. BMC Biology 7:13 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/7/13

Matheny, P.B., M.C.Aime, N. L. Bougher, B. Buyck, D. E. Desjardin, E. Horak, B. R. Kropp, D. J. Lodge, J. M. Trappe, and D. S. Hibbett. 2009. Out of the paleotropics? Historical biogeographic patterns in the cosmopolitan ectomycorrhizal mushroom family Inocybaceae. Journal of Biogeography. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.02055.x

Martinez, D., J. Challacombe, I. Morgenstern, D. Hibbett, M. Schmoll, C. P. Kubicek, P. Ferreira, F. J. Ruiz-Duenas, A. T. Martinez, P. Kersten, K. E. Hammel, A. Vanden Wymelenberg, J. Gaskell, E. Lindquist, G. Sabat, S. Splinter Bondurant, L. F. Larrondo, P. Canessa, R. Vicuna, J. Yadav, H. Doddapaneni, V. Subramanian, A. G. Pisabarro, J. L. Lavín, J. A. Oguiza, E. Master, B. Henrissat, P. M. Coutinho, P. Harris, J. K. Magnuson, S. Baker, K. Bruno, W. Kenealy, P. J. Hoegger, U. Kues, P. Ramiaiya, S. Lucas, A. Salamov, H. Shapiro, H. Tu, C. L. Chee, M. Misra, G. Xie, S. Teter, D. Yaver, T. James, M. Mokrejs, M. Popisek, I. Grigoriev, T. Brettin, D. Rokhsar, R. Berka and D. Cullen. 2009. Genome, transcriptome, and secretome analysis of wood decay fungus Postia placenta supports unique mechanisms of lignocellulose conversion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 106: 1954-1959.

Morgenstern, I., S. Klopman, and D. S. Hibbett. 2008. Molecular evolution and diversity of lignin degrading heme peroxidases in the homobasidiomycetes. Journal of Molecular Evolution 66: 243-257

Hibbett, D. S., M. Binder, J. F. Bischoff, M. Blackwell, P. F. Cannon, O. E. Eriksson, S. Huhndorf, T. James, P. M. Kirk, R. Lücking, T. Lumbsch, F. Lutzoni, P. B. Matheny, D. J. Mclaughlin, M. J. Powell, S. Redhead, C. L. Schoch, J. W. Spatafora, J. A. Stalpers, R. Vilgalys, M. C. Aime, A. Aptroot, R. Bauer, D. Begerow, G. L. Benny, L. A. Castlebury, P. W. Crous, Y.-C. Dai, W. Gams, D. M. Geiser, G. W. Griffith, C. Gueidan, D. L. Hawksworth, G. Hestmark, K. Hosaka, R. A. Humber, K. Hyde, J. E. Ironside, U. Kõljalg, C. P. Kurtzman, K.-H. Larsson, R. Lichtwardt, J. Longcore, J. Mi_dlikowska, A. Miller, J.-M. Moncalvo, S. Mozley-Standridge, F. Oberwinkler, E. Parmasto, V. Reeb, J. D. Rogers, C. Roux, L. Ryvarden, J. P. Sampaio, A. Schüßler, J. Sugiyama, R. G. Thorn, L. Tibell, W. A. Untereiner, C. Walker, Z. Wang, A. Weir, M. Weiß, M. M. White, K. Winka, Y.-J. Yao, N. Zhang. 2007. A higher-level phylogenetic classification of the Fungi. Mycological Research 111: 509-247.

Slot, J. C., K. Hallstrom, P. B. Matheny, and D. S. Hibbett. 2007. Diversification of NRT2 and its fungal homologs. Molecular Biology and Evolution 24: 1731-1743.

James, T. Y., Kauff, F., Schoch, C., Matheny, P. B., Hofstetter, V., Cox, C. J., Celio, G., Guiedan, C., Fraker, E., Miadlikowska, J., Lumbsh, T., Rauhut, A., Reeb, V., Arnold, A. E., Amtoft, A., Stajich, J. E., Hosaka K., Sung, G.-H., Johnson, D., O'Rourke, B., Binder, M., Curtis, J. M., Slot, J. C., Wang, Z., Wilson, A. W., Schüßler, A., Longcore, J. E., O'Donnell, K., Mozley-Standridge, S., Porter, D., Letcher, P. M., Powell, M. J., Taylor, J. W., White, M. M., Griffith, G. W., Davies, D. R., Sugiyama, J., Rossman, A. Y., Rogers, J. D., Pfister, D. H., Hewitt, D., Hansen, K., Hambleton, S., Shoemaker, R. A., Kohlmeyer, J., Volkmann-Kohlmeyer, B., Spotts, R. A., Serdani, M., Crous, P. W., Hughes, K. W., Matsuura, K., Langer, E., Langer, G., Untereiner, W. A., Lücking, R., Büdel, B., Geiser, D. M., Aptroot, A., Diederich, P., Schmitt, I., Schultz, M., Yahr, R., Hibbett, D. S., Lutzoni, F. L., McLaughlin, D. J., Spatafora, J. W., Vilgalys, R. 2006. Reconstructing the early evolution of the fungi using a six gene phylogeny. Nature 443: 818-822.

Binder, M., D. S. Hibbett, Z. Wang, and W. Farnham. 2006. Evolutionary origins of Mycaureola dilseae, a basidiomycete pathogen of the subtidal red alga Dilsea carnosa. American Journal of Botany 93: 547-556.

Hibbett, D. S. 2004. Trends in morphological evolution in homobasidiomycetes. Systematic Biology 53: 889-903.

Hibbett, D. S. 2002. When good relationships go bad. Nature 419: 345-346 (News and Views).

Hibbett, D. S., and M. Binder. 2002. Evolution of complex fruiting body morphologies in homobasidiomycetes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Ser B. 269:1963-1969.

Hibbett, D. S., Luz-Beatriz Gilbert, and Michael J. Donoghue. 2000. Evolutionary instability of ectomycorrhizal symbioses in basidiomycetes. Nature 407:506-508.

Hibbett, D. S., E. M. Pine, E. Langer, G. Langer, and M. J. Donoghue. 1997. Evolution of gilled mushrooms and puffballs inferred from ribosomal DNA sequences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 94: 12002-12006.

Hibbett, D. S., D. Grimaldi, and M. J. Donoghue. 1995. Cretaceous mushrooms in amber. Nature 377: 487.

Recent Grants

2007: National Science Foundation Systematics and Population Biology/Assembling the Tree of Life (DSH, PI; P. Brandon Matheny, Co-PI; M. Cathie Aime, Sub-award PI). Title: Collaborative Research: AFTOL: Resolving the Evolutionary History of the Fungi. Funding period September 15, 2007-August 31, 2011. DEB-0732968. $590,000 (est).

2006: National Science Foundation Systematics and Population Biology (DSH PI for administrative purposes, Jason Slot, Co-PI). Title: Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Phylogeny and functional evolution of high affinity nitrate transporters in fungi). Funding period June 1, 2006 - February 28, 2008. DEB-0608017. $12,000.

2005: National Science Foundation Systematics and Population Biology (M. Binder, PI, DSH Co-PI). Title: Toward a global phylogeny of the Boletales. September 1, 2005 - August 31, 2008. DEB-0444531. $325,000. RET (Research Experiences for Teachers) supplement, 2006: $9840.

2005: National Science Foundation Systematics and Population Biology (DSH PI for administrative purposes, Andrew Wilson, Co-PI). Title: Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Phylogeny, taxonomy, and ecology of Calostoma (Boletales, Basidiomycetes). Funding period June 1, 2005 - February 28, 2007. DEB-0508716. $12,000.

2003: National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation (DSH, PI; R. Bruschweiler, H. Gould, L. Han, S. Huo, Co-PIs). Title: Acquisition of a high performance parallel computing cluster for the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics and Computer Science at Clark University. September 1, 2003 - August 31, 2005. DBI-0320875. $190,000.