JASON C. SLOT
Vanderbilt University
Department of Biological Sciences
Nashville, TN 37232
Email: jason.c.slot@vanderbilt.edu
Tel: (615)-936-3893
https://my.vanderbilt.edu/jasonslot/
Research Interests
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The genomic and metabolic bases of fungal adaptation and niche
Horizontal gene transfer mechanisms
The evolution of symbioses
Education
2008
2000
1996
PhD, Clark University, Biology (adv: David Hibbett)
M.A.T., Boston University, Science Education (adv: Douglas Zook)
B.A., Boston University, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Positions
20102008-2010
2005-2007
2003-2008
2000-2003
1998-2000
1997-1998
Research Associate, Dept. of Biol. Sci., Vanderbilt University
NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Vanderbilit University
(adv: Antonis Rokas)
Research Assistant, Biology Department, Clark University
Teaching Assistant, Biology Department, Clark University
Science Teacher, Framingham High School, Framingham, MA
Research Technician, Boston University School of Medicine
Intern, SunLab, Museum of Science, Boston, MA
Awards, Grants and Fellowships
NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biological Informatics: An investigation of the
dynamics and ecological significance of gene cluster assembly, inheritance,
rearrangement and loss in fungal genomes. (Antonis Rokas, Postdoctoral
Advisor.) October 2008-September 2010. DBI-0805625
NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Phylogeny and functional evolution
of high affinity nitrate transporters in fungi. (David Hibbett PI for
administrative purposes, J. Slot, Co-PI). June 2006-February 2008. DEB0608017.
Clark University Graduate Student Council Travel Award: May 2006.
Other Training
Programming for Biology, Class of 2009. Cold Spring Harbor Labs,
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Zhang, H., A. Rokas and J.C. Slot. (2012). Two Different Secondary Metabolism
Gene Clusters Occupied the Same Ancestral Locus in Fungal
Dermatophytes. PLoS ONE (In press)
League, G., Slot, J.C., and A. Rokas. (2012) The ASP3 locus in Saccharomyces
cerevisiae originated by horizontal gene transfer from Wickerhamomyces.
FEMS Yeast Res (In press)
Floudas, D., (and 70 others, inc. Slot, J. C.) (2012). The Paleozoic Origin of
Enzymatic Lignin Decomposition Reconstructed from 31 Fungal Genomes.
Science 336: 1715.
Gibbons, J. G., Salichos, L., Slot, J. C., Rinker, D. C., McGary, K. L., King, J. G.,
Klich, M. A., Tabb, D. L., McDonald, W. H. and Rokas, A. (2012). The
evolutionary imprint of domestication on microbe genome variation and
function. Curr Biol 22:1-7.
Stergiopoulos, I., Y.A. Kourmpetis, J.C. Slot, F.T. Bakker, P.J.G.M. De Wit and A.
Rokas. (2012) In silico characterization and molecular evolutionary analysis
of a novel superfamily of fungal effector proteins. Mol Biol and Evol. (In
press)
Campbell, M. A., Rokas, A., & Slot, J. C. (2012). Horizontal transfer and death of a
fungal secondary metabolic gene cluster. Gen Biol Evol, 4(3), 289–293.
Slot, J. C. and A. Rokas. 2011. Horizontal transfer of a large and highly toxic
secondary metabolite gene cluster between fungi. Curr Biol 21(2).
Faculty of 1000 recommended.
Current Biology Dispatch by T.A. Richards: doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.01.028
Slot, J. C. and A. Rokas. 2010. Multiple GAL pathway gene clusters evolved
independently and by different mechanisms in fungi. Proc Nat Acad Sci
107(22) 10136-10141.
Slot, J. C., K. N. Hallstrom, P. B. Matheny, K. Hosaka, G. Mueller, D. L. Robertson,
and D. S. Hibbett. 2010. Phylogenetic, structural and functional
diversification of nitrate transporters in three ecologically diverse clades of
mushroom forming fungi. Fungal Ecology 3(3):160-177.
Slot, J. C., and D. S. Hibbett. 2007. Horizontal Transfer of a Nitrate Assimilation
Gene Cluster and Ecological Transitions in Fungi: A Phylogenetic Study.
PLoS ONE 2:e1097.
Slot, J. C., K. N. Hallstrom, P. B. Matheny, and D. S. Hibbett. 2007. Diversification
of NRT2 and the Origin of Its Fungal Homolog. Mol Biol Evol 24:1731-1743.
Matheny, P. B., Z. Wang, M. Binder, J. M. Curtis, Y. W. Lim, R. H. Nilsson, K. W.
Hughes, V. Hofstetter, J. F. Ammirati, C. L. Schoch, E. Langer, G. Langer,
D. J. McLaughlin, A. W. Wilson, T. Froslev, Z. W. Ge, R. W. Kerrigan, J. C.
Slot, Z. L. Yang, T. J. Baroni, M. Fischer, K. Hosaka, K. Matsuura, M. T.
Seidl, J. Vauras, and D. S. Hibbett. 2007. Contributions of rpb2 and tef1 to
the phylogeny of mushrooms and allies (Basidiomycota, Fungi). Mol
Phylogenet Evol 43:430-451.
Matheny, P. B., Curtis, J. M., Hoffstetter, V., Aime, M. C., Moncalvo, J. M., Ge, Z.
W., Yang, Z. L., Slot, J. C., et al. 2006. Major clades of Agaricales: a
multilocus phylogenetic overview. Mycologia 98(6): 982-995.
James, T. Y., F. Kauff, C. L. Schoch, P. B. Matheny, V. Hofstetter, C. J. Cox, G.
Celio, C. Gueidan, E. Fraker, J. Miadlikowska, H. T. Lumbsch, A. Rauhut, V.
Reeb, A. E. Arnold, A. Amtoft, J. E. Stajich, K. Hosaka, G. H. Sung, D.
Johnson, B. O'Rourke, M. Crockett, M. Binder, J. M. Curtis, J. C. Slot, et al.
2006. Reconstructing the early evolution of Fungi using a six-gene
phylogeny. Nature 443:818-822.
Yang, Z. L., P.B. Matheny, Z. Ge, J. C. Slot, and D. S. Hibbett. 2005. New Asian
species of the genus Anamika (euagarics, hebelomatoid clade) based on
morphology and ribosomal DNA sequences. Mycol Res 109(11):1259-1267
Pre-publication Manuscripts
Slot, J.C.*, B. Staehlin*, J.G. Gibbons, A. Rokas and T. O’Halloran. Origin of a
horizontally-transferred metal resistance island by module aggregation in
pathogenic Enterobacteria. (In preparation)*co-first authors
Slot, J.C., and A. Rokas. Metabolic gene clusters are associated with increased
horizontal transfer and gene family complexity in fungi. (In preparation)
Invited Contribution
Slot, J. A symbiosis journey. 2005. Symbiosis International 9: 3.
Presentations
2012: Mycological Society of America, New Haven, CT.
2012: West Virginia University, Department of Biology, Invited speaker
2012: Mid-Atlantic States Mycological Conference, Knoxville, TN.
2012: Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Biological Sciences. Invited speaker
2011: Society for General Microbiology, York, UK. Invited speaker
2011: National Science Foundation/National Postdoctoral Association,
Arlington, VA.
2011: Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences.
2010: Duke University, Durham, NC. Invited speaker.
2010: 9th International Mycological Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland. Invited speaker
2010: Mycological Society of America/International Symposium on Fungal
Endophytes of Grasses, Lexington, KY.
2009: Fungal Genetics, Asilomar, CA.
2007: Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
2006: 5th International Symbiosis Society Congress, Vienna, Austria.
2006: Evolution 2006, Stony Brook, New York.
2006: Clark University, Worcester, MA.
2006: NEMEB XVII (New England Molecular Evolutionary Biologist), Amherst, MA.
2005: Mycological Society of America / Mycological Society of Japan, Hilo, HI.
Reviewing Service
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Journal of Microbiology  BMC Evolutionary Biology 
Evolutionary Bioinformatics  Fungal Ecology  Molecular Biology and Evolution 
Mycological Research  Mycoscience  PLoS ONE  Source Code for Biology and
Medicine  Systematic Biology
Teaching Experience
Co-Instructor: Laboratory for Biodiversity, Clark University, Department of
Biological Sciences. Lecture instructor, John Baker. 2007.
Teaching Assistant: Introductory Biology I and II, Genetics, Clark University
Department of Biological Sciences. 2003, 2004, 2007.
Teacher: Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Framingham High School, MA. 20002003. (MA teacher certification)
Guest Lectures
The Evolution of Genome Structure. 2010, Vanderbilt University.
Fungal Ecological Diversity. 2007, Clark University.
Fungal Diversity. 2007, Clark University.
Educational Outreach
Fungal Molecular Ecology Workshops with School for Math and Science at
Vanderbilt, 2010.
Mushroom Biology for Worcester, MA Homeschool group, 2007.
Fungal Tree of Life Workshops with David Hibbett, Jepson
Herbarium, 2007, Clark University, 2006.
Professional Memberships
International Symbiosis Society  International Mycological Association 
Genetics Society of America  Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution 
Mycological Society of America