Fruiting under pressure—the 33rd meeting of the Fungal Genetics Conference
Abstract
The 33rd Fungal Genetics Conference was held from March 17th to the 22nd at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. The conference has been held at Asilomar 24 times since it began as the “Neurospora Information Conference” in 1961. Over meals at the large round tables, it is common for attendees to compare their conference history with some participants having attendance records stretching back to the last century. This year, however, the attendees set a different kind of record. In 2026, 381 of the badges were adorned with the blue “FIRST TIME ATTENDEE” ribbon. These new attendees comprised nearly 48% of all the conference-goers in 2026. The shift in the landscape of conference-goers is partly due to stressors preventing the attendance of some of the regulars, including changes to the funding landscape and international travel concerns. Despite growing adversities in research administration, the Fungal Genetics Conference continues to serve as a facilitator of excellent science and community. In his introduction to the new Fungal Spore Lecture, Dr. Robert A Cramer (Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, NH) shared that attending the Fungal Genetics Conference as a graduate student inspired him to stay in the field of fungal genetics. The conference's impact continues today. First-time attendee, Bhuwan Abbot (UNC Charlotte, NC), said: “For me, this conference was transformational and I left with a stronger identity as a scientist and meaningful relationships that will last beyond this meeting.” In times of uncertainty, the conference is a biannual opportunity to forge new collaborations, invigorate our scientific minds, and dance to the Amplified DNA Band until the lights are turned on. First-time attendees who made a big impression include Dr. I. Jason Tsai (Academia Sinica, Taiwan), who shared a captivating story about an acidophilic fungus that promotes prey digestion in a carnivorous plant. This plenary talk included important lessons about the benefits of posting your work on preprint servers and Darwin's fascination with carnivorous plants. As a newcomer to the conference, but not to the field, Dr. Tsai said that “it was quite special to finally meet and interact with so many people who had already been part of my scientific life in one way or another.” Of the 22 GSA poster winners, 13 were first-time attendees. This includes Boel Olsson (Stockholm University, Sweden), who presented a fantastic poster on the use of metagenomics to precisely measure the directional growth of the fairy ring fungus Marasmius oreades. Postdoctoral researcher Dr. Leslie Torres Ulloa (Harvard University, MA) was also new to Fungal Genetics and presented both a talk and a poster on the role of the circadian clock in the behavior-manipulating fungus Entomophthora muscae. Dr. Torres Ulloa said, “the experience of sharing my work with the community and receiving such earnest and constructive feedback was a huge highlight for me and left me feeling super motivated to get back to lab and try new things.” The conference concluded with laughs and tears during Dr. Nancy Keller's (UW-Madison, WI) Perkins/Metzenberg Lecture. She reminded us of all that the fungal genetics community is strengthened by our global connections: “I think one of the best things about our profession is [that] we get to interact and meet with people all around the world.” Dr. Keller has shared more about her journey in a recent Perspective in Genetics (Keller 2026). Over the coming months, Genetics and G3 will feature exciting new articles from Fungal Genetics attendees. Several articles have already hit the press. The lab of Jay Dunlap (Dartmouth, NH) published on the role of nuclear import in the Neurospora circadian clock (Wang et al. 2026). Work from the lab of Gustavo Goldman (Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil) described the microbiome of aspergillomas formed during Aspergillus fumigatus infection (Ribeiro et al. 2026). The lab of Scott Moye-Rowley (University of Iowa, IA) identified a new role for the gene YPK2 in multidrug susceptibility in a yeast pathogen (Simonicova et al. 2026). Look for the keyword Fungal2026 in upcoming publications to read more. Here, we have highlighted some of the most thought-provoking topics presented by both first-timers and seasoned Fungal Genetics attendees. Over the past few decades, participating in scientific research has become increasingly accessible to the public through citizen science initiatives. In fungal biology, engaging with citizen science can help to reduce sampling bias, expand datasets, and support scientific literacy. Throughout the conference, several talks discussed how the integration of citizen science can positively contribute to the fungal genetics community. In her plenary lecture, Dr. Eveline Snelders (Wageningen University, Netherlands) discussed her successful citizen science-based program that assessed antifungal resistance in the ubiquitous environmental fungus and opportunistic human pathogen, A. fumigatus. Through the distribution of a cost-effective air-sampling device, she captured air samples from across the Netherlands. Analysis of the resulting dataset revealed that Dr. Snelders’ group can predict antifungal resistance in airborne fungi based on the local land usage and identify resistant strains that are spreading in the air before being identified in the clinic. In addition to classic examples of citizen science, some talks discussed relationships with the private sector to solve real-world problems while expanding our fundamental knowledge of fungal biology. In his plenary presentation, Dr. Benjamin Wolfe (Tufts University, MA) discussed 2 different cheesemakers in the USA and France, both with unknown issues impacting their production. Through microbiology- and genetics-based approaches, Dr. Wolfe's group studied these “Frankencheeses” to identify environmental factors, such as temperature, that alter the microbial communities in cheese…
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BibTeX
@article{labella2026fruiting,
title = {{Fruiting under pressure—the 33rd meeting of the Fungal Genetics Conference}},
author = {Abigail Leavitt LaBella and Jessie MacAlpine and Marie-Claire Harrison and Neha Sahu and Hans Carolus and Leslie Torres Ulloa and Audrey Ward},
journal = {G3: Genes | Genomes | Genetics},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1093/g3journal/jkag246},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkag246},
note = {Public domain},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fruiting under pressure—the 33rd meeting of the Fungal Genetics Conference
AU - Abigail Leavitt LaBella
AU - Jessie MacAlpine
AU - Marie-Claire Harrison
AU - Neha Sahu
AU - Hans Carolus
AU - Leslie Torres Ulloa
AU - Audrey Ward
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/18
JO - G3: Genes | Genomes | Genetics
DO - 10.1093/g3journal/jkag246
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkag246
AB - The 33rd Fungal Genetics Conference was held from March 17th to the 22nd at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. The conference has been held at Asilomar 24 times since it began as the “Neurospora Information Conference” in 1961. Over meals at the large round tables, it is common for attendees to compare their conference history with some participants having attendance records stretching back to the last century. This year, however, the attendees set a different kind of record. In 2026, 381 of the badges were adorned with the blue “FIRST TIME ATTENDEE” ribbon. These new attendees comprised nearly 48% of all the conference-goers in 2026. The shift in the landscape of conference-goers is partly due to stressors preventing the attendance of some of the regulars, including changes to the funding landscape and international travel concerns. Despite growing adversities in research administration, the Fungal Genetics Conference continues to serve as a facilitator of excellent science and community. In his introduction to the new Fungal Spore Lecture, Dr. Robert A Cramer (Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, NH) shared that attending the Fungal Genetics Conference as a graduate student inspired him to stay in the field of fungal genetics. The conference's impact continues today. First-time attendee, Bhuwan Abbot (UNC Charlotte, NC), said: “For me, this conference was transformational and I left with a stronger identity as a scientist and meaningful relationships that will last beyond this meeting.” In times of uncertainty, the conference is a biannual opportunity to forge new collaborations, invigorate our scientific minds, and dance to the Amplified DNA Band until the lights are turned on. First-time attendees who made a big impression include Dr. I. Jason Tsai (Academia Sinica, Taiwan), who shared a captivating story about an acidophilic fungus that promotes prey digestion in a carnivorous plant. This plenary talk included important lessons about the benefits of posting your work on preprint servers and Darwin's fascination with carnivorous plants. As a newcomer to the conference, but not to the field, Dr. Tsai said that “it was quite special to finally meet and interact with so many people who had already been part of my scientific life in one way or another.” Of the 22 GSA poster winners, 13 were first-time attendees. This includes Boel Olsson (Stockholm University, Sweden), who presented a fantastic poster on the use of metagenomics to precisely measure the directional growth of the fairy ring fungus Marasmius oreades. Postdoctoral researcher Dr. Leslie Torres Ulloa (Harvard University, MA) was also new to Fungal Genetics and presented both a talk and a poster on the role of the circadian clock in the behavior-manipulating fungus Entomophthora muscae. Dr. Torres Ulloa said, “the experience of sharing my work with the community and receiving such earnest and constructive feedback was a huge highlight for me and left me feeling super motivated to get back to lab and try new things.” The conference concluded with laughs and tears during Dr. Nancy Keller's (UW-Madison, WI) Perkins/Metzenberg Lecture. She reminded us of all that the fungal genetics community is strengthened by our global connections: “I think one of the best things about our profession is [that] we get to interact and meet with people all around the world.” Dr. Keller has shared more about her journey in a recent Perspective in Genetics (Keller 2026). Over the coming months, Genetics and G3 will feature exciting new articles from Fungal Genetics attendees. Several articles have already hit the press. The lab of Jay Dunlap (Dartmouth, NH) published on the role of nuclear import in the Neurospora circadian clock (Wang et al. 2026). Work from the lab of Gustavo Goldman (Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil) described the microbiome of aspergillomas formed during Aspergillus fumigatus infection (Ribeiro et al. 2026). The lab of Scott Moye-Rowley (University of Iowa, IA) identified a new role for the gene YPK2 in multidrug susceptibility in a yeast pathogen (Simonicova et al. 2026). Look for the keyword Fungal2026 in upcoming publications to read more. Here, we have highlighted some of the most thought-provoking topics presented by both first-timers and seasoned Fungal Genetics attendees. Over the past few decades, participating in scientific research has become increasingly accessible to the public through citizen science initiatives. In fungal biology, engaging with citizen science can help to reduce sampling bias, expand datasets, and support scientific literacy. Throughout the conference, several talks discussed how the integration of citizen science can positively contribute to the fungal genetics community. In her plenary lecture, Dr. Eveline Snelders (Wageningen University, Netherlands) discussed her successful citizen science-based program that assessed antifungal resistance in the ubiquitous environmental fungus and opportunistic human pathogen, A. fumigatus. Through the distribution of a cost-effective air-sampling device, she captured air samples from across the Netherlands. Analysis of the resulting dataset revealed that Dr. Snelders’ group can predict antifungal resistance in airborne fungi based on the local land usage and identify resistant strains that are spreading in the air before being identified in the clinic. In addition to classic examples of citizen science, some talks discussed relationships with the private sector to solve real-world problems while expanding our fundamental knowledge of fungal biology. In his plenary presentation, Dr. Benjamin Wolfe (Tufts University, MA) discussed 2 different cheesemakers in the USA and France, both with unknown issues impacting their production. Through microbiology- and genetics-based approaches, Dr. Wolfe's group studied these “Frankencheeses” to identify environmental factors, such as temperature, that alter the microbial communities in cheese…
SN - 2160-1836
ER -