Morgan Carter receives NSF CAREER award for bacterial-fungal interaction study
Morgan Carter, assistant professor of biological sciences in the UNC Charlotte Klein College of Science and CIPHER center, has received a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award to advance understanding of how bacteria influence and communicate with the fungi they inhabit.
Carter’s research examines how bacteria living inside fungi use specialized secretion systems, molecular “syringes” and “harpoons,” to deliver proteins that alter fungal behavior. Although fungi play critical roles as pathogens, mutualists and nutrient cyclers, scientists are still learning more about how bacterial partners shape fungal biology.