Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

These charcoal-eating fungi flourish after fires. Uncovering their genetic secrets could help rebuild burned ecosystems

tomwt — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 22:05:40 +0000

These charcoal-eating fungi flourish after fires. Uncovering their genetic secrets could help rebuild burned ecosystems tomwt Mon, 03/23/2026 - 15:05 More CNAS in the Media Kunjal Bastola | Smithsonian Magazine March 13, 2026

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - When people think of fungi, most tend to picture mushrooms, the spore-bearing bodies of some fungi that are typically found growing in soil or on trees. However, the whole fungal kingdom is so much more than that: Our planet hosts an estimated 2.2 million to 3.8 million species of fungi, which are essential to life on Earth, acting as primary decomposers and nutrient recyclers.

Yeasts, for instance, act as rising agents for bread, and molds add flavors to certain smelly cheeses. Lichens—unique organisms created from a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and algae or cyanobacteria—are important indicators of environmental health. In vast networks beneath forest floors, mycorrhizal fungi interlace throughout the soil, forming symbiotic relationships with plants and even, some research has suggested, helping trees communicate.

And in the charred aftermath of a forest fire, some strange fungi pop up on soil and wood as bright patches of color—like pink or white crusts or little orange cups—for only a few ephemeral weeks.

Sydney Glassman, a microbial ecologist at the University of California, Riverside, who has been studying mycorrhizal fungi for more than a decade, stumbled upon this post-fire occurrence by accident. “Not once, but twice during my PhD, my plots burned down in catastrophic mega fires,” she says. “So I ended up having the situation where I had sampling pre- and post- a mega fire. … And what we found was that certain fungi are really increased in abundance after a fire.”

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Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

Sydney Glassman

After a fire, they feast: Some fungi have learned to eat charcoal

tomwt — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 22:49:16 +0000

After a fire, they feast: Some fungi have learned to eat charcoal tomwt Fri, 02/20/2026 - 14:49 More CNAS in the Media Rodielon Putol | Earth.com February 20, 2026

EARTH.COM - After a wildfire tears through a landscape, the destruction looks absolute. Hillsides turn black, trees collapse into ash, wildlife scatters, and the soil itself seems lifeless. Then something unexpected happens. Within days or weeks, life creeps back. Not trees. Not deer. Fungi.

Some of these fungi were barely there before the fire. You couldn’t see them. You couldn’t easily detect them in the soil.

Yet after a blaze, they spread quickly across the burned ground. Scientists have long wondered how they manage to do it.

A new study from the University of California, Riverside (UCR), finally cracks that mystery. The answer, it turns out, is written in their genes.

Fungi survive and thrive after fires
For five years, researchers collected fungi from seven wildfire burn sites across California. They sequenced the fungi’s DNA and tested how some reacted when exposed to charcoal.

The corresponding author of the research is Sydney Glassman, UCR associate professor of microbiology and plant pathology.

“We knew certain fungi were heat resistant, that some could grow quickly in scars where competitors have been burned away, and that others could consume nutrients in charcoal,” she said. “Now we know the genetics behind these incredible abilities.”

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Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

Sydney Glassman

Fire-loving fungi have learned to eat charcoal — a useful skill for dealing with industrial waste

tomwt — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 21:13:39 +0000

Fire-loving fungi have learned to eat charcoal — a useful skill for dealing with industrial waste tomwt Mon, 02/02/2026 - 13:13 More CNAS in the Media Jenny Lehmann | Discover Magazine January 30, 2026

DISCOVER MAGAZINE - Although wildfires are a natural and recurring phenomenon in certain regions, climate change is intensifying their impact. Each year, fires now swallow around four percent of Earth’s land surface, leaving behind vast, unrecognizable charred landscapes.

While most living organisms succumb to the flames, certain plants need regular fires to help bring life back to dead-looking environments. Alongside plants, some fungi have become fire lovers, too.

Now, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describing how inconspicuous fungi hidden in soil evolved to protect themselves from heat and how they acquired the genes that allow them to munch on charcoal.

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Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

Sydney Glassman

It’s harvest time at Riverside’s 150-year-old parent navel orange tree

tomwt — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:40:37 +0000

It’s harvest time at Riverside’s 150-year-old parent navel orange tree tomwt Mon, 12/08/2025 - 07:40 More CNAS in the Media David Allen | San Bernardino Sun December 06, 2025

SAN BERNARDINO SUN - Driving west Friday morning on Riverside’s Arlington Avenue, I see the two-story boxy shape, a peak at the top, from a block away.

Momentarily I think it’s a church. Then I recognize what I’m seeing. It’s not a church, but in a sense it’s still holy ground.

California’s citrus industry started with two young trees, formally Washington navel oranges, shipped to Riverside in 1873 by an agriculture official in Washington, D.C., as an experiment to see if the trees from Brazil would grow here. Did they ever.

...

How many oranges are there?

“About 2,000,” Benitez estimates. Sohrab Bodaghi, UC Riverside associate research scientist, does a rough count and confirms it.

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Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

California’s drying Salton Sea harms the lungs of people living nearby, say researchers

tomwt — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 17:53:17 +0000

California’s drying Salton Sea harms the lungs of people living nearby, say researchers tomwt Mon, 11/17/2025 - 09:53 More CNAS in the Media Tom Perkins | The Guardian November 09, 2025

THE GUARDIAN - Chemical-laden dust from southern California’s drying Salton Sea is probably harming the lungs of people around the shrinking body of water, and the effects are especially pronounced in children, new peer-reviewed research from the University of California, Irvine, shows.

A separate peer-reviewed study from the University of California, Riverside, also found the Salton Sea’s contaminated dust seemed to alter lung microbiome, which could trigger pulmonary problems that have been reported around the lake.

The two new papers are part of a series of studies that are revealing the environmental and public health risks of dust from the drying Salton Sea, which sits about 60 miles (96km) south-east of metropolitan Los Angeles. The dust has been found to travel more than 100 miles, though the prevailing winds blow to the south-east.

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Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

Emma Aronson

The lung microbiome is also beneficial to our health — and harmful dust can alter it

tomwt — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 22:13:15 +0000

The lung microbiome is also beneficial to our health — and harmful dust can alter it tomwt Tue, 10/21/2025 - 15:13 More CNAS in the Media Monica Cull | Discover Magazine October 21, 2025

DISCOVER MAGAZINE - When it comes to the microbiome, researchers have extensive knowledge of the microbial community living in our guts. The lungs, however, are a different story. While it may sound odd, microbes do live in our lungs, and breathing in certain substances, like certain dust, can cause harm to the lung microbiome.

A new study in mSphere examines how dust from the evaporating Salton Sea in California — a saline, landlocked lake — may be irritating the microbes in the lungs and altering the immune response.

The Lung Microbiome
Though researchers know much more about the gut microbiome than the microbes in the lungs, they still believe the lung microbiome is beneficial to our health. While genetic factors or bacterial infections can contribute to a weakened lung microbiome, researchers from the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) have found, for the first time, that environmental exposures can also have adverse effects.

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Center for Conservation Biology

Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

Emma Aronson

National Academy of Sciences elects members and international members

tomwt — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 15:32:49 +0000

National Academy of Sciences elects members and international members tomwt Wed, 04/30/2025 - 08:32 More CNAS in the Media Molly Galvin | National Academy of Sciences April 29, 2025

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES - The National Academy of Sciences announced today the election of 120 members and 30 international members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Those elected today bring the total number of active members to 2,662 and the total number of international members to 556. International members are nonvoting members of the Academy, with citizenship outside the United States.

Newly elected members of the UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences and their affiliations at the time of election are:

Mary L. Droser: Professor and department chair, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Riverside

Hailing Jin: Professor and plant molecular geneticist biology and Cy Mouradick Endowed Chair, Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside

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Mary Droser

Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

Hailing Jin

From pest to hero: Gophers saved a mountain in one day

tomwt — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:49:38 +0000

From pest to hero: Gophers saved a mountain in one day tomwt Mon, 11/18/2024 - 09:49 More CNAS in the Media Jocelyn Solis-Moreira | Study Finds November 16, 2024

STUDY FINDS - Like something straight out of a Disney movie, a study finds that gophers worked to save an entire mountain. These little critters dug up bacteria and fungi that helped restore lost plant and animal life to the devastated mountain landscape. Forty years later, the 24-hour gopher experiment continues to yield results.

In 1980, Mount St. Helens in Washington erupted, destroying everything around it. Only ash and debris surrounded the area. There was no sign of animal and plant life returning, leaving the region a barren wasteland.

Out of curiosity, scientists wondered if digging up bacteria and fungi would help with soil recovery, bringing plants and, eventually, animals back to the area. Of course, this would require a lot of digging, so scientists turned to animals that loved to dig.

Gophers are small rodents that usually spell trouble when they appear. Their constant digging can damage plant life and cause soil erosion. These small rodents also chew on everything in sight, such as irrigation lines and cables, earning them the title of pests.

“They’re often considered pests, but we thought they would take old soil, move it to the surface, and that would be where recovery would occur,” says study author Michael Allen, a microbiologist at the University of California-Riverside, in a media release.

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Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

Michael Allen

40 Years Ago, Scientists Dropped Gophers Onto a Volcano. Today, They're Tiny Heroes.

tomwt — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:39:05 +0000

40 Years Ago, Scientists Dropped Gophers Onto a Volcano. Today, They're Tiny Heroes. tomwt Mon, 11/18/2024 - 09:39 More CNAS in the Media Michael Natale | Popular Mechanics November 15, 2024

POPULAR MECHANICS - It would probably pretty alarming to learn that, in the early 1980s, scientists decided to drop off a bunch of gophers at the site of a volcanic eruption. But don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds.

In fact, according to a new report from the University of California, this particular gopher-volcano encounter proved to be such a net positive that its effects are still being felt 40 years later.

It starts with the eruption of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980. It was the most destructive volcanic event in American history, claiming 57 lives and causing staggering ecological damage. Faced with a devastation that would take the local environment a substantial amount of time to recover from, scientists were open to unorthodox ideas that might speed the process along. So they did what any reasonable person would decide to do and tossed a couple of gophers at the issue. Seriously.

Specifically, as laid out in the University of California’s report, the thinking was “by digging up beneficial bacteria and fungi, gophers might be able to help regenerate lost plant and animal life on the mountain.” So, just two years after the devastating eruption, that’s exactly what scientists did. They gathered up some gophers, brought them to the eruption site, and let them do their gopher thing.

“They’re often considered pests,” notes UC Riverside microbiologist Michael Allen, “but we thought they would take old soil, move it to the surface, and that would be where recovery would occur.”

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Michael Allen

How a Team of Gophers Restored Mount St. Helens After Its Catastrophic Eruption With Less Than a Day of Digging

tomwt — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 17:51:58 +0000

How a Team of Gophers Restored Mount St. Helens After Its Catastrophic Eruption With Less Than a Day of Digging tomwt Fri, 11/15/2024 - 09:51 More CNAS in the Media Alexa Robles-Gil | Smithsonian Magazine November 14, 2024

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - In May 1980, a magnitude-5.1 earthquake accompanied by an avalanche flipped the switch on a volcano in Washington state. With pressure suddenly removed from the magma below, Mount St. Helens spewed lava, ash and debris in the southwestern part of the state. It became the most destructive eruption in United States history. However, not all was lost.

On a destroyed landscape, scientists wondered how life could be restored—so they brought in gophers to dig around in specific areas for a single day. Now, more than four decades later, the benefits from those 24 hours remain visible.

Back then, the scientists only planned to test the short-term chain reaction of the stocky rodents’ activity, says Michael Allen, a biologist at the University of California, Riverside, in a statement. “Who would have predicted you could toss a gopher in for a day and see a residual effect 40 years later?”

Allen and others published a paper in early November in Frontiers in Microbiomes suggesting the gophers played a key role in restoring fungi and bacteria in the soil—and the health of gopher-inhabited areas stood in stark contrast to areas where the gophers had never been.

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Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology

Michael Allen