Ordinary cells react to starvation by reducing the activity of certain genetic pathways.

They hope to better understand the genetic pathways involved in the evolution of ectomycorrhizal associations.

Systematic analysis of these epistatic interactions can provide insight into the structure and function of genetic pathways.

When structures in different species are believed to exist and develop as a result of common, inherited genetic pathways, those structures are termed homologous.

Differences between different animal models further complicate elucidation of the genetic pathways, specifically between chicks/ mammalian models and zebrafish.