Frontiers in fungal biology最新文献

Biological control uses naturally occurring antagonists such as bacteria or fungi for environmentally friendly control of plant pathogens. Bacillus spp. have been used for biocontrol of numerous plant and insect pests and are well-known to synthesize a variety of bioactive secondary metabolites. We hypothesized that bacteria isolated from agricultural soil would be effective antagonists of soilborne fungal pathogens. Here, we show that the Delaware soil isolate Bacillus velezensis strain S4 has in vitro activity against soilborne and foliar plant pathogenic fungi, including two with a large host range, and one oomycete. Further, this strain shows putative protease and cellulase activity, consistent with our prior finding that the genome of this organism is highly enriched in antifungal and antimicrobial biosynthetic gene clusters. We demonstrate that this bacterium causes changes to the fungal and oomycete hyphae at the inhibition zone, with some of the hyphae forming bubble-like structures and irregular branching. We tested strain S4 against Magnaporthe oryzae spores, which typically form germ tubes and penetration structures called appressoria, on the surface of the leaf. Our results suggest that after 12 hours of incubation with the bacterium, fungal spores form germ tubes, but instead of producing appressoria, they appear to form rounded, bubble-like structures. Future work will investigate whether a single antifungal molecule induces all these effects, or if they are the result of a combination of bacterially produced antimicrobials.

Historically, fungi were mainly identified as plant and insect pathogens since they grow at 28°C. At the same time, bacteria are known to be the most common human pathogens as they are compatible with the host body temperature of 37°C. Because of immunocompromised hosts, cancer therapy, and malnutrition, fungi are rapidly gaining attention as human pathogens. Over 150 million people have severe fungal infections, which lead to approximately more than one million deaths per year. Moreover, diseases like cancer involving long-term therapy and prophylactic use of antifungal drugs in high-risk patients have increased the emergence of drug-resistant fungi, including highly virulent strains such as Candida auris. This clinical spectrum of fungal diseases ranges from superficial mucocutaneous lesions to more severe and life-threatening infections. This review article summarizes the effect of hospital environments, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, on fungal infections and emerging pathogens. The review also provides insights into the various antifungal drugs and their existing challenges, thereby driving the need to search for novel antifungal agents.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/ffunb.2023.1095765.].

Psilocybe mushrooms, otherwise known as "magic" mushrooms, owe their psychedelic effect to psilocin, a serotonin subtype 2A (5-HT_2A) receptor agonist and metabolite of psilocybin, the primary indole alkaloid found in Psilocybe species. Metabolomics is an advanced fingerprinting tool that can be utilized to identify the differences among fungal life stages that may otherwise be unaccounted for. In this study, by using targeted and untargeted (metabolomic) multivariate analysis, we demonstrate that the chemical composition of Psilocybe differs among mycelia, grain mycelia, and fruiting bodies. The preferential accumulation of psilocybin, baeocystin, tryptophan, ergothioneine, and phenylethylamine in fruiting bodies differentiated them from mycelia; however, the levels of alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (α-GPC), N-acetylglucosamine, and trimethylglycine were found to be proportionally higher in mycelia than in fruiting bodies based on Pareto-scaled data. Considering the wealth of compounds with therapeutic potential that have been isolated from various fungal genera, it would be pertinent to study the compounds found in Psilocybe mycelia as potential naturally derived therapeutic targets.

Leaf-cutter ants (LCAs) are widely distributed and alter the physical and biotic architecture above and below ground. In neotropical rainforests, they create aboveground and belowground disturbance gaps that facilitate oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. Within the hyperdiverse neotropical rainforests, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi occupy nearly all of the forest floor. Nearly every cubic centimeter of soil contains a network of hyphae of Glomeromycotina, fungi that form arbuscular mycorrhizae. Our broad question is as follows: how can alternative mycorrhizae, which are-especially ectomycorrhizae-essential for the survival of some plant species, become established? Specifically, is there an ant-mycorrhizal fungus interaction that facilitates their establishment in these hyperdiverse ecosystems? In one lowland Costa Rican rainforest, nests of the LCA Atta cephalotes cover approximately 1.2% of the land surface that is broadly scattered throughout the forest. On sequencing the DNA from soil organisms, we found the inocula of many AM fungi in their nests, but the nests also contained the inocula of ectomycorrhizal, orchid mycorrhizal, and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi, including Scleroderma sinnamariense, a fungus critical to Gnetum leyboldii, an obligate ectomycorrhizal plant. When the nests were abandoned, new root growth into the nest offered opportunities for new mycorrhizal associations to develop. Thus, the patches created by LCAs appear to be crucial sites for the establishment and survival of shifting mycorrhizal plant-fungal associations, in turn facilitating the high diversity of these communities. A better understanding of the interactions of organisms, including cross-kingdom and ant-mycorrhizal fungal interactions, would improve our understanding of how these ecosystems might tolerate environmental change.