The research program of Dr. Hijri's lab centers on the molecular genetics and genomics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), metagenomics, environmental microbiology, microbial ecology and plant-microbe interactions. The research program consists of different projects aiming to understand the genetic structure, genome evolution and reproduction of AMF; bioremediation using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics; and the interactions of AMF with soil microbes (bacteria and fungi) and plants and their applications in bioremediation.

 

Most of the research projects are of a fundamental nature and aim to understand AMF genome structure using comparative genomic analysis, and to define the extent of genetic variation in AMF with a particular focus on the how genetic polymorphism is maintained and lost through processes such as mutation, recombination, anastomosis, lateral gene transfers and genetic drift. Other projects are purely applied in the fields of agriculture and the environment. Therefore, our lab's aim is both to develop the fundamental science of AMF and soil microbes and to apply it to opportunities in agriculture and the environmental protection.

 

Although, Dr Hijri (Principal investigator) joined the Département de Sciences Biologiques of the Université de Montréal in September 2005. The lab became fully opprational in the Summer of 2007, following renovations and lab equipment upgrades at the IRBV laboratories located in the main building of the Montreal Botanical Garden. In the fall of 2011, Dr. Hijri's lab moved to the newly-built Biodiversity Center, which includes high-throughput molecular biology laboratories.