Sarah Brabant, Katherine Mertus

The hemlock varnish shelf mushroom (Ganoderma tsugae (Murrill)) is a common mushroom that can be found across North America (Loyd et al. 2018), as can their host tree the eastern hemlock (Tsugae canadensis (Annand)). The mushrooms act as ectoparasites (parasites that live on the outside of their host) on the hemlock trees meaning the trees could possibly have a trait that determines their susceptibility to infestation. Samples of the mushroom and hemlocks will be collected from Otsego and Delaware counties in New York starting in June, 2021. DNA will be extracted from the organisms and sequenced using third-generation sequencing. The information gathered from the mushroom and hemlocks will then be analyzed and compared to determine gene flow patterns for the two species. The data can be used to determine how closely the movement patterns of the two species (G. tsugae and T. canadensis) are linked. Hemlocks are also a major part of eastern hardwood forests ecosystems and habitats; therefore, understanding the population structure and effect of parasites can help us better maintain the species in the region.