Ning Zhang
Biography
Dr. Ning Zhang joined the Rutgers faculty in 2009. She currently is a Professor in the Department of Plant Biology and the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology. She has received the Rutgers University Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence, Chancellor’s Scholar award, and the National Science Foundation CAREER award. Her program’s research focuses on fungal diversity, systematics and microbiome. Fungi is the second largest kingdom of eukaryotic life. Although an estimated 1.5 to 5 million fungal species serve vital functions as decomposers, pathogens, and symbiotic partners, two centuries of active study have brought to light only about 10% of this projected diversity. From the New Jersey Pine Barrens, Serpentine Barrens, Florida Scrub, as well as the turfgrass fields, her research team has uncovered and published an array of new fungal species associated with plant root. Exhibiting functional diversity that spans from pathogenesis to plant growth promotion, these novel fungi hold potential for enhancing crop health.
Projects
Magnaporthales monograph: Magnaporthales (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota) is a fungal order that contains important plant pathogens, including the rice blast fungus, take-all pathogen of cereals, and the summer patch pathogen of turfgrass. We have built a publicly accessible: e-monograph of Magnaporthales fungi (magnaporthales.sebs.rutgers.edu), print version: The Rice Blast Fungus and Allied Species: A Monograph of the Fungal Order Magnaporthales, which is supported by the National Science Foundation. The e-monograph provides free access on updated taxonomic, biogeography and molecular data to researchers and the broader user communities worldwide, and aims to facilitate the future work on systematics, biodiversity, genetics, plant protection and quarantine.
Pine barrens fungi: Using both culturing and metabarcoding methods, we have uncovered and published a new fungal order, three new families and many new genera and species associated with plant root in the understudied barrens ecosystems. Microbes with growth promotion effect have potential to be applied in crop production.
Turfgrass Fungal Culture Collection and Database: We have been collecting and preserving fungal cultures associated with turfgrasses. We are developing a Turfgrass Fungal Database that includes information of culture collections, DNA barcoding sequences, and GenBank numbers. The purpose of this collection and database is to facilitate collaborative work and to support research on turfgrass health, fungal biology and genomics.
Title and Address
Professor
Department of Plant Biology
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey