II. Biodiversity and Evolution Group
Head: Prof. Lucyna Śliwa
Scientific Staff: Dr. Paweł Czachura, Dr. Valerii Darmostuk, Dr. Adam Flakus, Dr. Katarzyna Izworska, Dr. Paulina Janik, Dr. Beata Krzewicka, Dr. Joanna Lenarczyk, Dr. Edyta Mazur, Dr. Barbara Pawełek, Dr. Marcin Piątek, Dr. Pamela Rodriguez-Flakus, Prof. Anna Ronikier, Dr. Michał Ronikier, Monika Stryjak-Bogacka, Professor Lucyna Śliwa, Dr. Karina Wilk
Technical Staff: Wiktoria Kędzior, Dr. Natalia Matura, Dr. Wojciech Paul, Barbara Skoczek
Research profile
The group conducts research on the structure and evolution of biodiversity in various groups of living organisms, including fungi, lichens (lichenized fungi), algae, slime molds, and plants. Research is carried out within the framework of two complementary research axes. One is phylogenetic and taxonomic analyses aimed at understanding the evolutionary relationships between taxa, the mechanisms involved in the evolution of their biodiversity, as well as the interactions between different organisms. In this research, great importance is given to the analysis of critical groups of taxa, based, among other things, on the examination of nomenclatural types and protologues, as well as extensive comparative analyses. The second research axis involves issues of molecular biogeography – including intra-species microevolutionary processes and the temporal-spatial dynamics of the geographic ranges of organisms and the mechanisms that shaped them in the past. Their understanding is essential for predicting future changes in species distribution and biodiversity structure associated with contemporary climate change. The research utilises the unique resources of herbaria and museum collections, as well as extensive population and environmental materials collected around the world. Part of the research is conducted using in vitro cultures. Traditional methods such as the analysis of morphological features, which are still crucial for systematics, are used in parallel with molecular analyses. New approaches, based on high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies, are being developed enabling efficient analysis not only of modern, but also of museum (herbarium) and ancient samples.
Research teams and topics
Team II.1
Leader: Dr. Marcin Piątek
Research topic: Biological diversity, taxonomy, and phylogeny of fungi from the subkingdom Dikarya (P. Czachura, M. Piątek, M. Stryjak-Bogacka)
Team II.2
Leader: Professor Lucyna Śliwa
Research topic: Variability and speciation of lecanoroid lichens, particularly in neotropical regions (E. Mazur, L. Śliwa)
Team II.3
Leader: Dr. Adam Flakus
Research topic: Phylogenetic relationships and systematics of lichenicolous fungi and associated microbiomes in poorly studied tropical habitats of the Andes (V. Darmostuk, A. Flakus, P. Rodriguez-Flakus)
Team II.4
Leader: Dr. Beata Krzewicka
Research topic: Taxonomy and biodiversity of algae and lichens in natural and anthropogenic habitats and their adaptation to the environment (B. Krzewicka, J. Lenarczyk, K. Wilk)
Team II.5
Leader: Prof. Anna Ronikier
Research topic: Taxonomy, phylogeny, and phylogeography of nivicolous myxomycetes (Myxomycetes) (P. Janik, A. Ronikier)
Team II.6
Acting Leader: Dr. Michał Ronikier
Research topic: Factors shaping biodiversity in mountain and polar habitats – analyses using next-generation-sequencing-based techniques (K. Izworska, B. Pawełek, M. Ronikier)
