Dr. Sarah Hambleton

Research Scientist, Mycologist

Areas of Expertise:
• Systematic studies of rust and smut fungi on crop and weed hosts to improve identification systems and add to biodiversity records
• Development of DNA sequence databases for rust and smut fungi from new collections and from herbarium specimens
• Identifcation of species-specific molecular markers
• Rapid detection and monitoring of high risk plant pathogenic fungi

Current research and/or projects

  • Fungal and Bacterial Biosystematics - bridging taxonomy and “omics” technology in agricultural research and regulation; J-002272; Project lead(s): Sarah Hambleton, Hai Nguyen; Budgets: $2,495,000; Duration 2019/04/01 – 2024/03/31; Proposal stream: STB Annual Call for RDT Proposal
  • Agropathogenic fungi in omics big data; J-002216; Project lead(s): Wen Chen; Budgets: $296,000; Duration 2019/04/01 – 2022/03/31; Proposal stream: STB Annual Call for RDT Proposal

Key publications

  1. Lévesque, C.A., Chen, W., Hambleton, S., Seifert, K.A., Adam, Z., Bilodeau, G.J., Cullis, J., Demeke, T., Dumonceaux, T.J., Gagnon, M., Graefenhan, T., Kawchuk, L.M., Khan, I.U.H., Lewis, C.T., Li, X., Links, M.G., Mimee, B., Rott, M., Tambong, J.T., Yu, Q., and Yuan, K. (2015). Project CRTI 09-462RD - Next generation sequencing, direct detection and genotyping of fungi, bacteria and nematodes in the agri-food system. Final Report. 54. http://cradpdf.drdc-rddc.gc.ca/PDFS/unc195/p802330_A1b.pdf. (Report)

    2015 - View publication details

  2. Stielow, J.B., Lévesque, C.A., Seifert, K.A., Meyer, W., Irinyi, L., Smits, D., Renfurm, R., Verkley, G.J.M., Groenewald, M., Chaduli, D., Lomascolo, A., Welti, S., Lesage-Meessen, L., Favel, A., Al-Hatmi, A.M.S., Damm, U., Yilmaz, N., Houbraken, J., Lombard, L., Quaedvlieg, W., Binder, M., Vaas, L.A.I., Vu, D., Yurkov, A., Begerow, D., Roehl, O., Guerreiro, M., Fonseca, A., Samerpitak, K., Van Diepeningen, A.D., Dolatabadi, S., Moreno, L.F., Casaregola, S., Mallet, S., Jacques, N., Roscini, L., Egidi, E., Bizet, C., Garcia-Hermoso, D., Martín, M.P., Deng, S., Groenewald, J.Z., Boekhout, T., De Beer, Z.W., Barnes, I., Duong, T.A., Wingfield, M.J., De Hoog, G.S., Crous, P.W., Lewis, C.T., Hambleton, S., Moussa, T.A.A., Al-Zahrani, H.S., Almaghrabi, O.A., Louis-Seize, G., Assabgui, R., McCormick, W., Omer, G., Dukik, K., Cardinali, G., Eberhardt, U., De Vries, M., Robert, V. (2015). One fungus, which genes? Development and assessment of universal primers for potential secondary fungal DNA barcodes, 35(1), 242-263. http://dx.doi.org/10.3767/003158515X689135

    2015 - View publication details

  3. Mulvey, R.L., Hambleton, S. (2015). Stem rust of highbush-cranberry (Viburnum edule) caused by Puccinia linkii near Juneau, Alaska. Plant Disease, [online] 99(6), 893. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-09-14-0987-PDN

    2015 - View publication details

  4. Liu, M., McCabe, E., Chapados, J.T., Carey, J., Wilson, S.K., Tropiano, R., Redhead, S.A., Lévesque, C.A., Hambleton, S. (2015). Detection and identification of selected cereal rust pathogens by TaqMan® real-time PCR, 37(1), 92-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07060661.2014.999123

    2015 - View publication details

  5. Rioux, S., Mimee, B., Gagnon, A.È., Hambleton, S. (2015). First report of stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. Sp.Tritici) on wheat in Quebec, Canada. Phytoprotection, [online] 95(1), 7-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.7202/1028400ar

    2015 - View publication details

  6. Hambleton, S., Eggertson, Q.A., Edwards, T., Barasubiye, T., Redhead, S.A., and Lévesque, C.A. (2014). "DNA-barcoding herbarium specimens of obligate fungal pathogens – targeting the gaps in reference databases.", 10th International Mycological Conference (IMC10), Bangkok, Thailand, August 3-8, 2014. (Poster)

    2014 - View publication details

  7. Hambleton, S., Temple, K., and Liu, M. (2014). "Taxonomy and DNA sequence variation of the rust fungi infecting four prairie grass species.", APS-CPS Joint Meeting, Hilton Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN, USA, August 9-13, 2014. (Poster)

    2014 - View publication details

  8. Hambleton, S., Chen, W., Chapados, J.T., Lewis, C.T., and Lévesque, C.A. (2014). "Application of NGS technology in fungal pathogen detection and challenges in identification at species level.", 10th International Mycological Conference (IMC10), Bangkok, Thailand, August 3-8, 2014, Invited oral presentation.

    2014 - View publication details

  9. Kesanakurti, P., Richards, L., Gerdis, S., and Hambleton, S. (2014). "Developing a DNA-based toolkit for detection and identification of wheat rust pathogens.", APS-CPS Joint Meeting, Hilton Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN, USA, August 9-13, 2014. (Poster)

    2014 - View publication details

  10. Schoch, C.L., Robbertse, B., Robert, V., Vu, D., Cardinali, G., Irinyi, L., Meyer, W., Nilsson, R.H., Hughes, K., Miller, A.N., Kirk, P.M., Abarenkov, K., Aime, M.C., Ariyawansa, H.A., Bidartondo, M., Boekhout, T., Buyck, B., Cai, Q., Chen, J., Crespo, A., Crous, P.W., Damm, U., De Beer, Z.W., Dentinger, B.T.M., Divakar, P.K., Dueñas, M., Feau, N., Fliegerova, K., García, M.A., Ge, Z.W., Griffith, G.W., Groenewald, J.Z., Groenewald, M., Grube, M., Gryzenhout, M., Gueidan, C., Guo, L., Hambleton, S., Hamelin, R., Hansen, K., Hofstetter, V., Hong, S.B., Houbraken, J., Hyde, K.D., Inderbitzin, P., Johnston, P.R., Karunarathna, S.C., Kõljalg, U., Kovács, G.M., Kraichak, E., Krizsan, K., Kurtzman, C.P., Larsson, K.H., Leavitt, S., Letcher, P.M., Liimatainen, K., Liu, J.K., Lodge, D.J., Luangsa-Ard, J.J., Lumbsch, H.T., Maharachchikumbura, S.S.N., Manamgoda, D., Martín, M.P., Minnis, A.M., Moncalvo, J.M., Mulè, G., Nakasone, K.K., Niskanen, T., Olariaga, I., Papp, T., Petkovits, T., Pino-Bodas, R., Powell, M.J., Raja, H.A., Redecker, D., Sarmiento-Ramirez, J.M., Seifert, K.A., Shrestha, B., Stenroos, S., Stielow, B., Suh, S.O., Tanaka, K., Tedersoo, L., Telleria, M.T., Udayanga, D., Untereiner, W.A., Uribeondo, J.D., Subbarao, K.V., Vágvölgyi, C., Visagie, C., Voigt, K., Walker, D.M., Weir, B.S., Weiß, M., Wijayawardene, N.N., Wingfield, M.J., Xu, J.P., Yang, Z.L., Zhang, N., Zhuang, W.Y. (2014). Finding needles in haystacks: Linking scientific names, reference specimens and molecular data for Fungi. Database: The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation, [online] 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/database/bau061

    2014 - View publication details

  11. Sigler, L., Hambleton, S., and Paré, J.A. (2013). "Ophidiomyces gen. nov. and Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola comb. nov. - New Species Name registration.", Index Fungorum, 19.

    2013 - View publication details

  12. Lévesque, C.A., Lewis, C.T., Assabgui, R., McCormick, W.A., Ponovera, E., Hambleton, S., and Seifert, K.A. (2013 internal). "Development of additional DNA barcodes for Fungi based on conserved Pfam families and domains.", 21st Annual Conference of Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) and European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB), Berlin, Germany, July 19-23, 2013, Invited oral presentation.

    2013 - View publication details

  13. Fung, S., Rempel, H., Block, G.S., Chen, W., Janzen, T., Lewis, C.T., Zhang, N., El-Kayssi, N., Bilkhu, S., Hambleton, S., Amoako, K.K., Lévesque, C.A., Bach, S.J., Delaquis, P.J., and Diarra, M.S. (2013). "Bacillus species across Canada's agriculture environment: an ecological perspective.", International conference on Bacillus antracis, B. cereus, and B. thurengiensis, Victoria, BC, Canada, September 1-5, 2013, Abstract. (Poster)

    2013 - View publication details

  14. Lewis, C.T., Chen, W., Zhang, N., El-Kayssi, N., Fung, S., Diarra, M.S., Bilkhu, S., Hambleton, S., and Lévesque, C.A. (2013). "Developing an integrated bioinformatics platform to support real-time monitoring of agricultural environments.", 21st Annual Conference of Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) and European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB), Berlin, Germany, July 19-23, 2013.

    2013 - View publication details

  15. Malloch, D., Sigler, L., and Hambleton, S. (2013). "Leuconeurospora capsici comb. nov. and Leuconeuorspora polypaeciloides sp. nov. - New Species Name registration.", Index Fungorum, 20.

    2013 - View publication details

  16. Ordoñez, M.E., Vivvanco, C.E., Hambleton, S., and Barnes, C.W. (2013). "Puccinia on wheat and other Poaceae in the Ecuadorian highlands.", Phytopathology, 103(Suppl.2:S2), pp. 108. (Abstract)

    2013 - View publication details

  17. Kesanakurti, P., Setia, R., Temple, K., Hambleton, S., Lévesque, C.A., and Lewis, C.T. (2013). "Genome data mining and diagnostic marker development of Tilletia indica for Agri-food system detection screening.", Phytopathology, 103(Suppl.2:S2), pp. 73. (Abstract)

    2013 - View publication details

  18. Sigler, L., Hambleton, S., Paré, J.A. (2013). Molecular characterization of reptile pathogens currently known as members of the chrysosporium anamorph of nannizziopsis vriesii complex and relationship with some human-associated isolates. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, [online] 51(10), 3338-3357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01465-13

    2013 - View publication details

  19. Shoemaker, R.A., Hambleton, S., Liu, M. (2013). Vialaea insculpta revisited. North American Fungi, [online] 8(10), 1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.2509/naf2013.008.010

    2013 - View publication details

  20. Shoemaker, R.A., Malloch, D., Hambleton, S., Liu, M. (2013). A new Vestigium on Abies balsamea. North American Fungi, [online] 8(9), 1-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.2509/naf2013.008.009

    2013 - View publication details