Prof Gareth Griffith

BSc Microbiology (University of Wales); PhD Fungal ecology (University of Wales)

Member of the editorial boards for journals Fungal Ecology and Plant Pathology.

Member of the Conservation Committee of the Mycological Society of America and a past member of the Council of the British Mycological Society.

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the British Mycological Society, Mycological Society of America, British Society for Plant Pathology and the Microbiology Society

1) Ecology of Grassland Fungi

• Use of eDNA in fungal ecology
• Ecology and conservation of grassland macrofungi (Hygrocybe spp. and other waxcap fungi).
• Role of Dark Septate endophytes (DSE) in temperate grasslands).
• Ecology of anaerobic rumen fungi (phylum Neocallimastigomycota).

2) Fungal Taxonomy and DNA barcoding

• Molecular phylogenetics of anaerobic fungi (Neocallimastigomycota), Dark Septate Endophytes; mollisioid fungi (Helotiales), rusts (Pucciniales), Coral fungi (Pterulaceae, Clavariaceae) and waxcaps (Hygrophoraceae)

3) Aerobiology

• Detection of airborne propagules of fungi, plant pathogens etc (e.g. sporangia of the potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans) and pollen using novel air sampling devices, flow cytometry and DNA metabarcoding.

4) Cacao Pathology

• Pathogenesis, host specificity, population genetics, genomics and infection biology of Moniliophthora perniciosa, causal agent of witches' broom disease.

5) Silage microbiology

• Role of fungi in the spoilage of silage

These research programmes are funded by NERC, BBSRC, DEFRA, Natural Resources Wales, Cocoa Research UK Ltd. Silage Solutions Ltd., KESS and the Dutch Government.

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/GW_Griffith