People Connected to the Hibbett Lab
Ingo Morgenstern
Bio: Ingo received a Diploma in Biology from Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany, in 1998, and then studied fungal pathogens of wine grapes with Michael Fischer at the Staatliches Weinbauinstitut in Freiburg. He joined our lab in 2002.
Research interests: My research is focused on the biodegradation of lignocellulose by basidiomycete fungi from a molecular evolutionary perspective. Specifically, I am interested in the evolution of the fungal class II peroxidase family, which contains members (lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase and versatile peroxidase), which play an important role in lignin degradation. I am using comparative genomics approaches to study this and other lignocellulose degrading protein families. In this context, I am also interested in possible applications of these enzymes for the production of sustainable biofuels. My favorite study organism is Fomitiporia mediterranea, a resupinate fungus growing on vine and associated with the esca disease affecting vine cultivation in many countries.
Publications:
1. Morgenstern, I., S. Klopman and D.S. Hibbett. 2008. Molecular Evolution and Diversity of Lignin Degrading Heme Peroxidases in the Agaricomycetes. J. Mol. Evol. 66(3): 243-257.
2. Martinez, D., J. Challacombe, I. Morgenstern, D. Hibbett, M. Schmoll, C. Kubicek, P. Ferreira, F. Ruiz-Duenas, A. Martinez, P. Kersten, K. Hammel, A. Vanden Wymelenberg, J. Gaskell, E. Lindquist, G. Sabat, S. Splinter Bondurant, L. Larrondo, P. Canessa, R. Vicuna, J. Yadav, H. Doddapaneni, V. Subramanian, A. Pisabarro, J. Lavín, J. Oguiza, E. Master, B. Henrissat, P. Coutinho, P. Harris, J. Magnuson, S. Baker, K. Bruno, W. Kenealy, P. Hoegger, U. Kues, P. Ramiaiya, S. Lucas, A. Salamov, H. Shapiro, H. Tu, C. 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. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 106(6): 1954-1959.