Fungal Biology Reviews最新文献

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.

Representation of fungal sporocarps is a vital part of field mycology, fungal ecology, and fungal taxonomy. This technical focus article discusses the recent developments in photogrammetry—a technique for building three-dimensional models of objects. We present the results of their initial tests in photogrammetry using dried fungal material, highlighting improvements in the methodology that increase the utility and accessibility of the technique—principally the ability to build the models using only a mobile phone—and discuss the application of photogrammetry to various field in mycology including fungal taxonomy and ecology.

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.

Rapid and accurate identification of pathogens causing infections is one of the biggest challenges of medicine. Timely identification and characterization of fungal pathogens is essential for choosing a suitable tailored antifungal treatment and proper management of patients. This, in turn, leads to the shortening of hospital stays, reducing costs and time to adequate treatment, increasing the well-being of patients, limiting the spread of antifungal resistance, and helps to save the lives of many patients. Raman spectra allow the assessment of the overall molecular constitution of biological samples, based on specific signals from proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and inorganic crystals. It has been found to be a valuable tool for the identification of microorganisms, characterization of virulence factors, and their ability to form biofilms. The most used method in current diagnostic laboratories for fungal identification is fungal culture which can take four weeks or longer to maximize the recovery of slowly growing fungi. This needs the development of new methods to detect and identify these pathogens directly from clinical samples.

We aim to offer an evidence-based review of the Raman spectroscopy technique, its strengths, and limitations with respect to its use in the field of medical mycology to help in the early detection of fungal pathogens. Raman spectroscopy can be used not only for identification but, also for the biochemical analysis of the fungal pathogen. It is a precise, convenient, and low-cost method for fungal detection. Analysis of various cell organelles present in the fungal cell can help us understand the cell dynamics and enable us to study the reaction of those cells under different environmental stresses. It can also help us to further study mechanisms of antifungal resistance.

Trichophyton rubrum is a pathogenic fungus infecting human skin, hairs and nails. These substrates are colonized only by very few fungal species. In this review, we summarise the nutritional requirements of fungal species, with a focus on T. rubrum, and compare them with nutrients available in the keratinized tissues. The outer layers of the human skin are low in most nutrients required for fungal growth, the basis of nutritional immunity. Carbohydrate availability is low and protein, in the form of keratin, is used for energy and carbon by the fungus. In addition to the nitrogen derived from keratin, the skin is rich in phosphorus, sulfur, potassium and chloride. The concentration of trace elements is very low, especially in the outermost layer of the skin, and magnesium, iron and zinc are likely the most relevant limiting elements for T. rubrum. We point to the evolutionary adaption of the fungus to the human skin. T. rubrum has a sophisticated system for the digestion and utilization of extracellular protein and a relative low demand for micronutrients.

Research on the order Saprolegniales (Oomycota) has been an ongoing quest for more than a century. The best studied genera are Saprolegnia and Aphanomyces, known for their pathogenicity on freshwater animals. In this study, we reviewed 1073 papers and 2803 ITS sequences of Saprolegniales to investigate their taxonomy, diversity and potential roles in mainly freshwater ecosytems. We found that, in general, our knowledge on diversity and ecology of Saprolegniales is limited. Neither classic taxonomy nor available molecular techniques have been sufficient to delineate genera and species and show their relative distribution in freshwater-associated habitats. Also, we currently lack a comprehensive understanding of their involvement in carbon turnover and food web dynamics. Finally, due to lack of using high-throughput sequencing techniques, it is not clear how and to what extent communities of Saprolegniales might differ in freshwater econiches. Therefore, we provide a historical perspective on the establishment of Saprolegniales, explain improvements, highlight deficiencies, and finally propose new research avenues for more systematic studies. We conclude that challenges in studying Saprolegniales can be removed by increasing the practicality of classic taxonomy and applying available molecular toolboxes (multi-gene phylogeny and high-throughput sequencing). Additionally, inclusion of Saprolegniales in freshwater carbon cycling should be addressed for their better ecological resolution.

The serine/threonine phosphatase calcineurin complex has been considered a prospective target for developing novel drugs due to its importance in fungal growth, virulence, and stress responses in pathogenic fungi. Therefore, two well-known immunosuppressants, FK506 and cyclosporine A were successfully identified to inhibit calcineurin by combining with FK506-binding protein 12 and cyclophilin A, respectively. However, these drugs are immunosuppressive and may exhibit serious side effects. There is a growing number of literatures reported on further exploring functions of the calcineurin complex as promising antifungal targets. In general, the majority of the calcineurin complex structures are conserved but some functions are species-specific. Nevertheless, there still have a lot of functional motifs in the calcineurin complex that are unexplored. Therefore, further investigation and experimentation into the calcineurin complex are strongly required. This review not only has summarized previous findings but also explored bioinformatics analysis along with structural models of the calcineurin complex for finding fungal-specific regions as potential targets, laying the groundwork for future research into new therapeutics.

Lichens are generally acknowledged as the main agents of the initial bioweathering of rock substrates. The most direct evidence of a chemical interaction between lichens and their mineral substrata is the production of oxalic acid, of which interaction with ions present in a close lichen environment occasionally results in the precipitation of metal oxalates. In the past, only a few studies revealed the presence of metal oxalates in lichens, and currently, almost no new discoveries are arriving. Therefore, the main goal of this review is to bring the focus back to this phenomenon. To date, only Mg oxalate dihydrate, Mn oxalate dihydrate, Cu oxalate hemihydrate, Zn oxalate dihydrate, and anhydrous Pb oxalate have been detected in lichens. The most reliable diagnostic methods of metal oxalates in lichens are powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Prospective lichen specimens for investigations may be found in anthropogenically-polluted environment or naturally metal-rich rock substrata. This review acts as an initial guide that provides analytical options for field lichenologists, offers a few suggestions for further research on this matter, and encourages to new biomineral discoveries in the scope of mineralogy. Survival in the metal-toxic environment, ability to produce oxygen, and extremophile nature, are the reasons why lichens are good subjects for research within the context of currently expanding astrobiology sciences, as well.