Toby Spribille is a lichenologist, specialising in evolution and

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

. He identified the presence of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

cells as an additional fungal component of some

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus, fungi species in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship.University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

and is the

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Symbiosis.

Early life, education and personal life

Toby Spribille was born in the US and educated at home. He was interested in science but lacked conventional qualifications. Therefore, he studied at

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

in Germany. He subsequently studied for a doctorate at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The unive ...

, Austria which was awarded in 2011.

Career

He first worked in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

. After academic study in Europe, he undertook

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

at both the University of Graz and University of Alberta between 2012 and 2017. Spiribille worked with John McCutcheon at University of Alberta to apply

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

methods to the lichen symbiosis. He was then able to take up a post as an associate professor in biological sciences at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

in Canada in 2017. His research focuses on

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus, fungi species in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship.microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...

and molecular biology. In 2016, he and colleagues identified the presence of

basidiomycota Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...

s within the structure of lichen species in North American through using a combination of microscopy and molecular genetic methods. This was a new, unexpected, discovery since lichens were considered to consist of one fungus and one (or two)

photosynthetic Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...

algal Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

bacterial Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

components. The additional fungal component has also been found in lichens around the world. This discovery has added to understanding of the lichen symbiosis, and the gradation between

parasitism Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...

and mutualism. Spribille has also identified, or revised the nomenclature, of several species of northern American lichens. The North American lichen '' Cliostomum spribillei'' was named in his honour in 2016.

Publications

Spribille is the author or co-author of over 45 scientific publications. The most significant include: * Toby Spribille, Veera Tuovinen, Philipp Resl, Dan Vanderpool, Heimo Wolinski, M Catherine Aime, Kevin Schneider, Edith Stabentheiner, Merje Toome-Heller, Göran Thor, Helmut Mayrhofer, Hanna Johannesson, John P McCutcheon (2016) Basidiomycete yeasts in the cortex of ascomycete macrolichens. ''Science'' 353 488-492 * Ana Crespo, Frank Kauff, Pradeep K Divakar, Ruth del Prado, Sergio Pérez-Ortega, Guillermo Amo de Paz, Zuzana Ferencova, Oscar Blanco, Beatriz Roca-Valiente, Jano Núñez-Zapata, Paloma Cubas, Arturo Argüello, John A Elix, Theodore L Esslinger, David L Hawksworth, Ana Millanes, M Carmen Molina, Mats Wedin, Teuvo Ahti, Andre Aptroot, Eva Barreno, Frank Bungartz, Susana Calvelo, Mehmet Candan, Mariette Cole, Damien Ertz, Bernard Goffinet, Louise Lindblom, Robert Lücking, Francois Lutzoni, Jan-Eric Mattsson, María Inés Messuti, Jolanta Miadlikowska, Michele Piercey-Normore, Victor J Rico, Harrie JM Sipman, Imke Schmitt, Toby Spribille, Arne Thell, Göran Thor, Dalip K Upreti, H Thorsten Lumbsch (2010) Phylogenetic generic classification of parmelioid lichens (Parmeliaceae, Ascomycota) based on molecular, morphological and chemical evidence. ''Taxon'' 59 1735-1753

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spribille, Tony American lichenologists University of Graz alumni Academic staff of the University of Alberta Year of birth missing (living people) Living people

Early life, education and personal life

Career

Publications

See also

References