Fungal Biology Reviews最新文献

The demand to develop protein production systems that are both economically and scientifically viable is reflected in the global scenario, where filamentous fungi, due to their interesting characteristics such as the high capacity to secrete proteins into the culture medium, growth in relatively simple substrates and robust post-translational machinery, among others, are presented as promising alternatives for the creation and establishment of these systems. Currently, these organisms produce a wide range of proteins, such as glycosidases, lipases, and proteases, for example. Scientific and technological development has increasingly allowed the evolution of molecular biology techniques that facilitate the genetic modification of organisms, thus, stimulating the establishment of new protein production systems. Amongst these techniques, it is possible to highlight the CRISPR/Cas system, a relatively simple, low-cost, and high-efficient tool for genetic modifications. Filamentous fungi, organisms widely used for protein production, have been used in a relatively low number of studies related to the production of (hemi-)cellulases using the CRISPR/Cas system as a genomic editing tool. (Hemi-)cellulases, enzymes that catalyze the breakdown of saccharides, are a class of enzymes that are highly researched and applied in several biotechnological areas in order to obtain a wide range of value-added bioproducts, such as bioethanol, for example. In this context, this review aims to illustrate the scenario of the application of the CRISPR/Cas technique for the production of (hemi-)cellulases, highlighting the main studies to date and the perspectives of a market that tends to grow exponentially in the coming years.

In many eukaryotes, small RNAs (sRNAs) can mediate gene expression regulation through a mechanism known as RNA silencing. In fungi, RNA silencing plays a crucial role in numerous biological processes, including parasitic and mutualistic fungus-plant interactions. This review summarizes recent findings on the role of RNA silencing in parasitic fungus-fungus and fungus-insect interactions in relation to their use for the biological control (biocontrol) of fungal plant diseases and insect damage. Genes belonging to the RNA silencing machinery are identified in the genomes of almost all known fungal and oomycete biocontrol organisms. However, recent functional genetic studies in Ascomycota species of the Hypocreales order, such as Trichoderma atroviride and Clonostachys rosea, show how RNA silencing can have family-specific effects, as conidiation is affected differently in the two organisms when the same elements of the RNA silencing machinery are deleted. The size of sRNAs regulated by RNA silencing can also vary between organisms. Cross-species RNA silencing represents a new field in the study of antagonistic interactions. For example, a microRNA (miRNA) of another hypocrealean fungus, Beauveria bassiana, was proven to target genes involved in the immune response of mosquitoes, and there are indications that miRNAs from the mycoparasitic C. rosea may target factors of virulence in its plant-pathogenic host fungi. Accumulating evidence from many species shows that the number of endogenous genes affected by the disruption of the RNA silencing mechanism is always much higher than the number of predicted direct target genes. As several putative targets of fungal sRNAs are transcription factors, it is possible that specific sRNAs have a role as master regulators of gene expression, affecting the transcription of a high number of genes through cascading regulating effects. The challenges faced when studying cross-species RNA silencing, including sRNA trafficking during mycoparasitism, are also discussed. This includes the difficulties in separating the extracellular vesicles of mycoparasitic fungi from those of their hosts, the high amount of sequencing reads lost in bioinformatics filtering steps, imprecise target prediction and the lack of a streamlined accepted way of reporting results.

The primary cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide is fungal keratitis, an infection of the cornea. The predominant etiology of these fungal infections is influenced by several variables, including socioeconomic level, geographic origin, and climatic circumstances. Aspergillus spp. and Fusarium spp. are typically responsible for the infection in tropical and subtropical regions, whereas Candida spp. predominate in temperate zones. Anatomical barriers are a crucial first line of protection because most infectious agents are exogenous. By releasing antimicrobial chemicals like lysozyme, lactoferrin, lipocalin, and defensins that are found in tears or secreted over the cornea, corneal cells operate as the body's second line of defense. Additionally, immunity against fungal infections is provided by the cellular immune response that is triggered by the presence of fungi or their products at the corneal surface. T lymphocytes and neutrophils are drawn to the infection site as a result of activated signaling pathways in corneal cells. A comprehensive defense against fungal keratitis is provided by the antifungal mechanism acting as the host defense at the corneal surface. Furthermore, developing treatment plans for fungal keratitis may be influenced by knowledge of the molecular underpinnings of host protection against fungal infections. In the current work, we outlined the most recent developments in our understanding of the host-pathogen interaction and host-immune response in fungal keratitis of mouse and human corneal tissue.

Skin, hair, and nail fungal infections affect almost a billion people globally and their incidence is rising. Candida spp. and Malassezia spp., two yeasts that are part of the skin microbiota, normally do not cause disease. But, when dysbiosis occurs and the skin microbiome is disturbed, they can become pathogenic. There are conventional antifungals that treat candidiasis and Malassezia infections, such as azoles and allylamines, among others. However, the limitations of these treatments (resistance, side effects) lead to the search for new, alternative, and natural drugs, such as plant extracts (PEs) and essential oils (EOs). But these substances present some limitations (poor bioavailability and poor target capacity), which limits their efficiency. Their incorporation in formulations such as films and hydrogels (HGs) can help overcome these issues and may be a potential alternative to the current treatments. The main objective of this work is to provide a state-of-the-art review on Candida spp., Malassezia spp., mucocutaneous candidiasis and Malassezia infections, the conventional existing treatments and the incorporation of PEs and EOs in films and hydrogels as possible new alternative treatments for these diseases.

Fungi are ubiquitous in all kinds of ecosystems with key ecological roles, while less than 10% of them have been described, of which, only about 1.2% are from marine habitats. Although the advance of next-generation sequencing has unquestionably improved our understanding of marine fungi, living cultures of marine fungi are important for studying the cell biology, ecological roles and evolution of microorganisms. In recent years, a number of efficient cultivation strategies, technologies, and devices have been newly developed, most of which were designed for prokaryotes and have been poorly applied to marine fungi. In this review, we give a brief discussion on the factors that may affect the isolation and cultivation of novel microorganisms, and review the omics-based innovative methods for the culturomics or targeted isolation. At last, we discuss the limitations of these approaches and their application potential on isolation and cultivation of marine fungi.

Fungal pathogens are responsible for 30% of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) in plants. The risk of a pathogen emerging on a new host is strongly tied to its host breadth; however, the determinants of host range are still poorly understood. Here, we explore the factors that shape host breadth of plant pathogens within Botryosphaeriaceae, a fungal family associated with several devastating diseases in economically important crops. While most host plants are associated with just one or a few fungal species, some hosts appear to be susceptible to infection by multiple fungi. However, the variation in the number of fungal taxa recorded across hosts is not easily explained by heritable plant traits. Nevertheless, we reveal strong evolutionary conservatism in host breadth, with most fungi infecting closely related host plants, but with some notable exceptions that seem to have escaped phylogenetic constraints on host range. Recent anthropogenic movement of plants, including widespread planting of crops, has provided new opportunities for pathogen spillover. We suggest that constraints to pathogen distributions will likely be further disrupted by climate change, and we may see future emergence events in regions where hosts are present but current climate is unfavorable.

Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn (Basidiomycota, Cantharellales) is the main causal agent of rice sheath blight (RSB), which causes serious yield losses worldwide. The lack of rice varieties with resistance against RSB, which has a high sclerotia (dense masses of hyphal cells that function as compact survival structures in the fungal life cycle, enabling the fungus to endure adverse conditions and serve as reservoirs for subsequent growth and reproduction) survival rate, and the wide host range of R. solani, create basic challenges in the control of RSB. Overwinter sclerotium is the primary source of infection during the tillering stage of rice growth. In R. solani, a loose type of sclerotia is present. The sclerotia are primarily formed of compact masses of monilioid cells, but they may also be composed of undifferentiated hyphae. Three stages of sclerotial metamorphosis process are based on phenotypic changes, including the mycelium stage, the initial sclerotia stage (formation of monilioid cells), and sclerotia maturation. The metamorphosis of sclerotia involves the energy metabolism pathways and signal transduction pathways in the cell. In addition, there is evidence that the expression of genes encoding cell cycle activities may be important for sclerotia formation. During sclerotia metamorphosis, R. solani significantly expresses genes that encode antioxidants and respond to stimuli. The oxidative bursts begin in the initial sclerotia metamorphosis stage; at this time, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are mostly produced at the hyphal branches. In this sense, two classes of proteins related to glycosyltransferases B and the RNA recognition motif superfamily play a critical role in the sclerotial metamorphosis process in R. solani as scavengers of free radicals. The analysis of metabolic differences during sclerotia metamorphosis indicates that the NO metabolism may play an important role in sclerotia metamorphosis. Moreover, an increase in glycerophosphoethanolamines (PE) and glycerophosphoserines (PS) levels may indicate an advanced state of differentiation in mature R. solani sclerotia. Understanding the mechanisms involved in the sclerotial metamorphosis of R. solani can introduce new strategies for the management of RSB. In this review, we discuss the putative signaling and regulation mechanisms (such as quorum sensing) involved in the metamorphosis of sclerotia.

Sphingolipids are major constituents of the plasma membrane that can act as structural and signalling molecules in diverse organisms such as animals, plants, and fungi. The metabolism of sphingolipids in fungi has gained increasing attention due to its relevance in the context of pathogenicity and therapeutic intervention for fungal infections. Humans are susceptible to a variety of fungal infections, which can range from superficial infections on the skin and mucosal surfaces to life-threatening systemic and invasive infections. Additionally, immunocompromised individuals are more prone to developing systemic infections caused by Candida, Aspergillus, and Cryptococcus spp., which are difficult to treat and have a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Several antifungal drugs have been given clinical approval to treat systemic and invasive fungal infections, however, pathogenic fungi have the intrinsic capacity to evolve different resistance mechanisms. In recent years, sphingolipid molecules and their regulators have become significant factors in the pathogenesis and multi-drug resistance. Therefore, sphingolipid pathway inhibitors could be used either alone or in combination with existing antifungal drugs for the effective prevention of virulence, and pathogenesis or to kill the pathogenic fungi. In this review, we address the impact of sphingolipid metabolism and its regulators on antifungal drug resistance, as well as how they can be effectively targeted to improve the efficacy of currently available antifungal drugs.

The Lingzhi mushroom is a species of great economic importance that has been extensively researched, yet there is still no consensus on its scientific name. In a recent article based on new taxonomic results, the authors argued for using the name Ganoderma sichuanense instead of G. lingzhi, which has been widely accepted by the scientific community in the last ten years. However, replacing a stable and popular name based on current results may exacerbate the crisis surrounding the correct name of this species. Therefore, my aim is to review the situation with respected to the name G. sichuanense. To achieve this, it is necessary to carefully review whether it is indeed the earliest valid scientific name that can be applied to the Lingzhi mushroom. Moreover, in the interest of nomenclatural stability, we must consider whether the earliest published basionym is the best choice for the scientific name of this economically and culturally significant fungal species. The urgent clarification of this issue is necessary because only a widely accepted name has the possibility to compete with the still widely but incorrectly used name G. lucidum in many publications and on medicinal products.

Pestalotiopsis-like species are necrotrophic fungi, which infect many annual and perennial crops, including agricultural, horticultural, and plantation crops, in postharvest and under field conditions worldwide. They cause multiple diseases on crops, which results in severe yield loss. At present, Pestalotiopsis-like species cause gray blight on tea, which is a widely prevalent disease in major tea-growing countries and rapidly spreading in other tea-growing countries of minor importance due to climate change. The global increase in disease incidence and severity and the emergence of new virulent isolates have prompted research on the evolution of pathogenic determinants in these fungal species. This review synthesizes the epidemiology, molecular and genetic studies of the gray blight pathogen with particular reference to tea crop and the approaches to mitigate it. Further, the adaptation of Pestalotiopsis-like species on other crops and their management strategies are also discussed along with potential areas for future research.