Dr Bill Dunstan

Centre for Phytophthora Science and Management.
School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology,
Murdoch University,
Western Australia, 6150

Qualifications:

• BSc. (Hons.) Murdoch University
• PhD. Murdoch University (2002)
  PhD. thesis: Factors affecting the establishment of selected edible ectomycorrhizal fungi of Pinus in south-western Australia.
  

Research Interests:

• Edible ectomycorrhizal fungi (Truffles and mushrooms)
• Taxonomy and ecology of Australian truffle-like fungi, and resupinate Australian ectomycorrhizal fungi.
• Beneficial biotrophic fungi associated with native plants.
• Mechanisms of disease resistance.
  

Current Project:

Enhancing the efficacy of phosphite to control Phytophthora cinnamomi in natural and rehabilitated ecosystems. This is a three year project funded by the Australian Research Council, ALCOA, Worsley Alumina and the Department of Conservation and Land Management (Western Australia). The main aim of the project is to further develop techniques for the application of phosphite (phosphorous acid), the most useful chemical tool for the control of disease caused by Phytophthora. Field experiments have been established in natural (Jarrah) forest and rehabilitated mine sites in the Darling Range, and in Banksia woodland on the Swan Coastal Plain. We are also investigating the mechanisms of the protective effect of phosphite, in the model plant Arabidopsis thalliana.

Publications:

• Thomas, SR; Dunstan WA; Dell, B; Trappe, JM; Malajczuk, N. 2003. Pisolithus hypogaeus sp nov.: A hypogeous representative of the genus Pisolithus from Western Australia. Mycotaxon 87:405-410.
• Dell B; Malajczuk N; Dunstan WA. 2002. Persistence of some Australian Pisolithus species introduced into eucalypt plantations in China. Forest Ecology and Management 169(3):271-281.
• Kõljalg U; Dunstan WA 2001. Pseudotomentella larsenii sp. nov. (Thelephorales), a common ectomycorrhizal former in dry eucalypt woodland and forests of Western Australia. Harvard Papers in Botany 6(1): 123-130.
• Dunstan WA; Dell B; Malajczuk N; Iwase K 2000. Detection of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Tricholoma matsutake and some related species with specific ITS primers. Mycoscience 41: 33-37.
• Dunstan, WA; Dell, B, Malajczuk, N. 1998. The diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with introduced Pinus spp. in the southern hemisphere, with particular reference to Western Australia. Mycorrhiza. 8(2):71-79.
• Dunstan, WA; Malajczuk, N; Dell, B. 1998. Effects of bacteria on mycorrhizal development and growth of container grown Eucalyptus diversicolor F. Muell. seedlings. Plant and Soil. 201(2):241-249.

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