(5 de junho de 2018, 16:00) Prof. Vinson Doyle, Louisiana State University, Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology. Fungi are among the most important pathogens capable of causing severe economic and conservation impacts. While the recent die-offs of charismatic vertebrates have brought the attention of the research community to the importance of fungal pathogens, the importance of fungi to plant health has long been recognized by plant pathologists, ecologists, and many others. However, some of our knowledge about the diversity and life history of plant pathogens have relied on an assumption that there is a close affinity between a fungal species and its plant host. Our work focuses on characterizing the biodiversity of plant-associated fungi in order to understand their origin and life history with the aim of clarifying fundamental assumptions about these organisms and provide insight into developing more effective management strategies. I will discuss the insight we have gained into the life history of several economically important genera of plant pathogens and the some of the tools we are developing to improve our understanding of fungal diversity.