Teresa Pawlowska

My current work is focused on evolution and ecology of symbiotic associations formed by fungi with bacteria. My research group is unraveling the principles governing formation and evolutionary stability of fungal-bacterial mutualisms as well as fungal defense mechanisms deployed in interactions with antagonistic bacteria. Research topics include:

• the role of endosymbiotic bacteria in ecological community assembly and evolutionary diversification of early divergent Mucoromycota fungi,
• the impact of endosymbiotic bacteria on phenotypic diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomeromycotina),
• the mechanisms of innate immunity in Mucoromycotina molds.

Outreach and Extension Focus

I direct the NSF-funded REU summer program “Microbial Friends & Foes” aimed at increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in science.

Selected Journal Publications

• Lastovetsky O.A., L.D. Krasnovsky, X. Qin, M.L. Gaspar, A.P. Gryganskyi, M. Huntemann, A. Clum, M. Pillay, K. Palaniappan, N. Varghese, N. Mikhailova, D. Stamatis, T.B.K. Reddy, C. Daum, N. Shapiro, N. Ivanova, N. Kyrpides, T. Woyke, T.E. Pawlowska. 2020. Molecular dialogues between early divergent fungi and bacteria in an antagonism versus a mutualism. mBio 11: e02088-02020, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.02088-20, Abstract, Nat Rev Microbiol: In Brief.
• Pawlowska, T. E., Gaspar, M. L., Lastovetsky, O. A., Mondo, S. J., Real-Ramirez, I., & Bonfante, P. (2018). Biology of fungi and their bacterial endosymbionts. Annual Review of Phytopathology. 56:289-309.
• Lastovetsky, O. A., Ahn, E., Mondo, S. J., Toomer, K. H., Johnson, L. M., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2018). Distribution and population structure of endobacteria in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at North Atlantic dunes. The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology. 12:3001–3013.
• Naito, M., Desirò, A., Gonzalez, . B., Tao, G., Morton, . B., Bonfante, P., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2017). 'Candidatus Moeniiplasma glomeromycotorum', an endobacterium of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 67:1177–1184.
• Mondo, S. J., Lastovetsky, O. A., Gaspar, M., Schwardt, N. H., Barber, C. C., Riley, R., Sun, H., Grigoriev, I. V., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2017). Bacterial endosymbionts influence host sexuality and reveal reproductive genes of early divergent fungi. Nature Communications. 8:9.
• Naito, M., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2016). Defying Muller’s Ratchet: Ancient heritable endobacteria escape extinction through retention of recombination and genome plasticity. mBio. 7:e02057-15.
• Lastovetsky, O. A., Gaspar, M., Mondo, S. J., LaButti, K. M., Sandor, L., Grigoriev, I. ., Henry, S. A., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2016). Lipid metabolic changes in an early divergent fungus govern the establishment of a mutualistic symbiosis with endobacteria. PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113:15102-15107.
• Mondo, S. J., Salvioli, A., Bonfante, P., Morton, J. B., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2016). Nondegenerative evolution in ancient heritable bacterial endosymbionts of fungi. MBE: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 10.1093/molbev/msw086.
• Naito, M., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2016). The role of mobile genetic elements in evolutionary longevity of heritable endobacteria. Mobile Genetic Elements. 6:e1136375.
• Naito, M., Joseph, M. B., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2015). Minimal genomes of mycoplasma-related endobacteria are plastic and contain host-derived genes for sustained life within Glomeromycota. PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 10.1073/pnas.1501676112.
• Toomer, K. H., Chen, X., Naito, M., Mondo, S. J., den Bakker, H. C., VanKuren, N. W., Lekberg, Y., Morton, J. B., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2015). Molecular evolution patterns reveal life history features of mycoplasma-related endobacteria associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Molecular Ecology. 10.1111/mec.13250.
• Lastovetsky , O. A., Krasnovsky, L. D., Qin, X., Gaspar, M. L., Gryganskyi, A. P., Huntemann, M., Clum, A., Pillay, M., Palaniappan, K., Varghese, N., Mikhailova, N., Stamatis, D., Reddy, T., Daum, C., Shapiro, N., Ivanova, N., Kyrpides, N., Woyke, T., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2020). Molecular dialogues between early divergent fungi and bacteria in an antagonism versus a mutualism. mBio. 11:e02088-20.
• Carter , M. E., Carpenter, S. C., Dubrow, Z. E., Sabol, M. R., Rinaldi, F. C., Lastovetsky, O. A., Mondo, S. J., Pawlowska, T. E., & Bogdanove, A. (2020). A TAL effector-like protein of an endofungal bacterium increases the stress tolerance and alters the transcriptome of the host. PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 117:17122–17129.
• Espino-Vázquez, A. N., Bermúdez-Barrientos, J. R., Cabrera-Rangel, J. F., Córdova-López, G., Cardoso-Martínez, F., Martínez-Vázquez, A., Camarena-Pozos, D. A., Mondo, S. J., Pawlowska, T. E., Abreu-Goodger, C., & Partida-Martínez, L. P. (2020). Narnaviruses: novel players in fungal–bacterial symbioses. The ISME Journal. 14:1743–1754.
• Arroyo, F. A., Pawlowska, T. E., Choat, J. H., Clements, K. D., & Angert, E. R. (2019). Recombination contributes to population diversification in the polyploid intestinal symbiont Epulopiscium sp. type B. The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology. 13:1084–1097.
• Pawlowska, T. E., Gaspar, M. L., Lastovetsky, O. A., Mondo, S. J., Real-Ramirez, I., & Bonfante, P. (2018). Biology of fungi and their bacterial endosymbionts. Annual Review of Phytopathology. 56:289-309.
• Lastovetsky, O. A., Ahn, E., Mondo, S. J., Toomer, K. H., Johnson, L. M., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2018). Distribution and population structure of endobacteria in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at North Atlantic dunes. The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology. 12:3001–3013.
• Naito, M., Desirò, A., Gonzalez, . B., Tao, G., Morton, . B., Bonfante, P., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2017). 'Candidatus Moeniiplasma glomeromycotorum', an endobacterium of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 67:1177–1184.
• Mondo, S. J., Lastovetsky, O. A., Gaspar, M., Schwardt, N. H., Barber, C. C., Riley, R., Sun, H., Grigoriev, I. V., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2017). Bacterial endosymbionts influence host sexuality and reveal reproductive genes of early divergent fungi. Nature Communications. 8:9.
• Naito, M., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2016). Defying Muller’s Ratchet: Ancient heritable endobacteria escape extinction through retention of recombination and genome plasticity. mBio. 7:e02057-15.
• Lastovetsky, O. A., Gaspar, M., Mondo, S. J., LaButti, K. M., Sandor, L., Grigoriev, I. ., Henry, S. A., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2016). Lipid metabolic changes in an early divergent fungus govern the establishment of a mutualistic symbiosis with endobacteria. PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113:15102-15107.
• Mondo, S. J., Salvioli, A., Bonfante, P., Morton, J. B., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2016). Nondegenerative evolution in ancient heritable bacterial endosymbionts of fungi. MBE: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 10.1093/molbev/msw086.
• Naito, M., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2016). The role of mobile genetic elements in evolutionary longevity of heritable endobacteria. Mobile Genetic Elements. 6:e1136375.
• Naito, M., Joseph, M. B., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2015). Minimal genomes of mycoplasma-related endobacteria are plastic and contain host-derived genes for sustained life within Glomeromycota. PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 10.1073/pnas.1501676112.
• Toomer, K. H., Chen, X., Naito, M., Mondo, S. J., den Bakker, H. C., VanKuren, N. W., Lekberg, Y., Morton, J. B., & Pawlowska, T. E. (2015). Molecular evolution patterns reveal life history features of mycoplasma-related endobacteria associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Molecular Ecology. 10.1111/mec.13250.

View publications on Google Scholar

Presentations and Activities

• Harvard Organismic & Evolutionary Biology Plant Biology Initiative Symposium, May 3-4, 2021, Ends & means: How heritable endobacteria manipulate their fungal hosts.
• Rosie Perez Memorial Seminar, April 8, 2021, North Carolina State University, Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association.  Unraveling the mechanisms of symbiosis formation between early-divergent fungi and bacteria.
• International Microorganism Day 2020, September 17, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa, What can we learn from fungal-bacterial symbioses?  Insights into the evolution and functioning of mutualisms and antagonisms.
• 87th Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of America.  August 10-14, 2019, Minneapolis.  What can we learn about evolution of symbioses from the partnerships between fungi and bacteria?
• ASM Microbe, June 20-24, 2019, San Francisco.  Addictive endosymbionts define a new evolutionary trajectory in heritable mutualisms.
• Science Olympiad, Cornell University, May 29, 2019.  A tale of addictive symbionts.
• 30th Fungal Genetics Conference, Concurrent Session Fungal-bacterial interactions and the microbiome.  March 12–17, 2019, Pacific Grove, CA.  What can we learn from studying the Rhizopus-Burkholderia symbiosis?
• The University of Connecticut, Department of Pathobiology & Veterinary Science, February 21, 2019.  What can we learn from mycoplasma-related endosymbionts of fungi?