Phos Hayes

Overview

I am a BBSRC SWBio DTP PhD student based between Cardiff University and the University of the West of England. My research focusses on investigating the interactions between fungi and prokaryotes that reside within the wetwood of British broadleaved trees. Wetwood is an anomalous condition that forms within living trees, characterised by patches of water-saturated wood. Water saturation creates an oxygen-poor environment that is hostile to communities of vital decay fungi  while aiding the proliferation of anaerobic prokaryotes. Through my research, I hope to ascertain the largely unknown causal mechanisms behind wetwood formation, identify microbial taxa present within wetwood, and disentangle interactions between the fungi and prokaryotes within.