Ima Fungus最新文献

{"title":"Singleton-based species names and fungal rarity: Does the number really matter?","authors":"Jonathan Cazabonne, Allison K. Walker, Jonathan Lesven, Danny Haelewaters","doi":"10.1186/s43008-023-00137-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00137-2","url":null,"abstract":"Fungi are among the least known organisms on earth, with an estimated number of species between 1.5 and 10 million. This number is expected to be refined, especially with increasing knowledge about microfungi in undersampled habitats and increasing amounts of data derived from environmental DNA sequencing. A significant proportion of newly generated sequences fail to match with already named species, and thus represent what has been referred to as fungal “dark taxa”. Due to the challenges associated with observing, identifying, and preserving sporophores, many macro- and microfungal species are only known from a single collection, specimen, isolate, and/or sequence—a singleton. Mycologists are consequently used to working with “rare” sequences and specimens. However, rarity and singleton phenomena lack consideration and valorization in fungal studies. In particular, the practice of publishing new fungal species names based on a single specimen remains a cause of debate. Here, we provide some elements of reflection on this issue in the light of the specificities of the fungal kingdom and global change context. If multiple independent sources of data support the existence of a new taxon, we encourage mycologists to proceed with formal description, irrespective of the number of specimens at hand. Although the description of singleton-based species may not be considered best practice, it does represent responsible science in the light of closing the Linnean biodiversity shortfall.","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140166122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"H3K4 methylation regulates development, DNA repair, and virulence in Mucorales.","authors":"Macario Osorio-Concepción, Carlos Lax, Damaris Lorenzo-Gutiérrez, José Tomás Cánovas-Márquez, Ghizlane Tahiri, Eusebio Navarro, Ulrike Binder, Francisco Esteban Nicolás, Victoriano Garre","doi":"10.1186/s43008-023-00136-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43008-023-00136-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mucorales are basal fungi that opportunistically cause a potentially fatal infection known as mucormycosis (black fungus disease), which poses a significant threat to human health due to its high mortality rate and its recent association with SARS-CoV-2 infections. On the other hand, histone methylation is a regulatory mechanism with pleiotropic effects, including the virulence of several pathogenic fungi. However, the role of epigenetic changes at the histone level never has been studied in Mucorales. Here, we dissected the functional role of Set1, a histone methyltransferase that catalyzes the methylation of H3K4, which is associated with the activation of gene transcription and virulence. A comparative analysis of the Mucor lusitanicus genome (previously known as Mucor circinelloides f. lusitanicus) identified only one homolog of Set1 from Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae that contains the typical SET domain. Knockout strains in the gene set1 lacked H3K4 monomethylation, dimethylation, and trimethylation enzymatic activities. These strains also showed a significant reduction in vegetative growth and sporulation. Additionally, set1 null strains were more sensitive to SDS, EMS, and UV light, indicating severe impairment in the repair process of the cell wall and DNA lesions and a correlation between Set1 and these processes. During pathogen-host interactions, strains lacking the set1 gene exhibited shortened polar growth within the phagosome and attenuated virulence both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings suggest that the histone methyltransferase Set1 coordinates several cell processes related to the pathogenesis of M. lusitanicus and may be an important target for future therapeutic strategies against mucormycosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"15 1","pages":"6"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10938801/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140121340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Galleria mellonella in vitro model for chromoblastomycosis shows large differences in virulence between isolates.","authors":"Dongmei Shi, Zhiya Yang, Wanqing Liao, Chen Liu, Liang Zhao, Huilin Su, Xiaodong Wang, Huan Mei, Min Chen, Yinggai Song, Sybren de Hoog, Shuwen Deng","doi":"10.1186/s43008-023-00134-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43008-023-00134-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Chromoblastomycosis is the World Health Organization (WHO)-recognized fungal implantation disease that eventually leads to severe mutilation. Cladophialophora carrionii (C. carrionii) is one of the agents. However, the pathogenesis of C. carrionii is not fully investigated yet.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We investigated the pathogenic potential of the fungus in a Galleria mellonella (G. mellonella) larvae infection model. Six strains of C. carrionii, and three of its environmental relative C. yegresii were tested. The G. mellonella model was also applied to determine antifungal efficacy of amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, and terbinafine.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>All strains were able to infect the larvae, but virulence potentials were strain-specific and showed no correlation with clinical background of the respective isolate. Survival of larvae also varied with infection dose, and with growth speed and melanization of the fungus. Posaconazole and voriconazole exhibited best activity against Cladophialophora, followed by itraconazole and terbinafine, while limited efficacy was seen for amphotericin B.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Infection behavior deviates significantly between strains. In vitro antifungal susceptibility of tested strains only partly explained the limited treatment efficacy in vivo.</p>","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"15 1","pages":"5"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10921731/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140061266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Funding for research on cryptococcal disease: an analysis based on the G-finder report.","authors":"Iraine Duarte, Marcio L Rodrigues","doi":"10.1186/s43008-023-00133-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43008-023-00133-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Members of the genus Cryptococcus are the causative agents of cryptococcal meningitis, a disease mainly associated with HIV-induced immunosuppression. Patients with cryptococcal meningitis are at a serious risk of death. Most patients suffering from cryptococcosis belong to neglected populations. With reduced support for research, new therapies are unlikely to emerge. In this essay, we used the Policy Cures/G-finder platform as a reference database for funding research on cryptococcal disease. Funding for cryptococcal research started being tracked by G-finder in 2013 and has continued to appear in the annual reports ever since. In total, 15 institutions were reported as major funders for research on cryptococcal disease over the years. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) was the main funder, followed by the UK's Wellcome Trust. The annual analysis suggested slow yearly growth in funding from 2013 to 2021. The development of new tools to prevent and fight cryptococcal disease is urgent but requires improved funding.</p>","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"15 1","pages":"4"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10908028/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140013756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rust HUBB: DNA barcode-based identification of Pucciniales.","authors":"Patricia Kaishian, Christopher R K Layug, Mark Anderson, Diane R Berg, M Catherine Aime","doi":"10.1186/s43008-023-00132-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43008-023-00132-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rust fungi (Pucciniales, Basidiomycota) are a species-rich (ca. 8000 species), globally distributed order of obligate plant pathogens. Rust species are host-specific, and as a group they cause disease on many of our most economically and/or ecologically significant plants. As such, the ability to accurately and rapidly identify these fungi is of particular interest to mycologists, botanists, agricultural scientists, farmers, quarantine officials, and associated stakeholders. However, the complexities of the rust life cycle, which may include production of up to five different spore types and alternation between two unrelated host species, have made standard identifications, especially of less-documented spore states or alternate hosts, extremely difficult. The Arthur Fungarium (PUR) at Purdue University is home to one of the most comprehensive collections of rust fungi in the world. Using material vouchered in PUR supplemented with fresh collections we generated DNA barcodes of the 28S ribosomal repeat from > 3700 rust fungal specimens. Barcoded material spans 120 genera and > 1100 species, most represented by several replicate sequences. Barcodes and associated metadata are hosted in a publicly accessible, BLAST searchable database called Rust HUBB (Herbarium-based Universal Barcode Blast) and will be continuously updated.</p>","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"15 1","pages":"3"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10894486/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139944698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular phylogenetics of the Ophiocordyceps sinensis-species complex lineage (Ascomycota, Hypocreales), with the discovery of new species and predictions of species distribution.","authors":"Yongdong Dai, Siqi Chen, Yuanbing Wang, Yao Wang, Zhuliang Yang, Hong Yu","doi":"10.1186/s43008-023-00131-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43008-023-00131-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ophiocordyceps sinensis is a famous traditional Chinese medicine adapted to the alpine environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and adjacent regions. Clarification of the species diversity of Ophiocordyceps sinensis and its relatives could expand the traditional medicinal resources and provide insights into the speciation and adaptation. The study is prompted by the discovery of a new species, O. megala, described here from a biodiversity hotspot in the Hengduan Mountains, China. Combined morphological, ecological, and phylogenetic evidence supports its distinctiveness from O. sinensis, O. xuefengensis, and O. macroacicularis. Additionally, based on the phylogenetic construction of Ophiocordyceps, a special clade was focused phylogenetically on the more closely related O. sinensis complex, which was defined as the O. sinensis- species complex lineage. A total of 10 species were currently confirmed in this lineage. We made a comprehensive comparison of the sexual/asexual morphological structures among this species complex, distinguishing their common and distinctive features. Furthermore, using the method of species distribution modelling, we studied the species ocurrences in relation to climatic, edaphic, and altitudinal variables for the eight species in the O. sinensis-species complex, and determined that their potential distribution could extend from the southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the Xuefeng Mountains without isolating barrier. Thus, the biodiversity corridor hypothesis was proposed around the O. sinensis-species complex. Our study highlights the phylogeny, species diversity, and suitable distribution of the O. sinensis-species complex lineage, which should have a positive implication for the resource discovery and adaptive evolution of this unique and valuable group.</p>","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"15 1","pages":"2"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10858606/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139713338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"MycoNews 2023: Editorial, news, reports, awards, personalia, and book news","authors":"David L. Hawksworth","doi":"10.1186/s43008-024-00139-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-024-00139-8","url":null,"abstract":"This fifth annual edition of MycoNews starts with an editorial on the critical importance of International Mycological Congresses (IMCs) to the health of mycology. Items on Counting down to IMC12, the State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2023, and progress towards Improving nomenclatural stability in medically important fungi follow. Reports are provided of several mycological meetings in 2023: the Asian Mycological Congress, XIX Congress of European Mycologists, a meeting of European Mycological Groups and Societies, the XI Latin American Mycological Congress, Westerdijk Spring Symposium on Fungal Evolution, the Brazilian Society of Mycology, the Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of China, and the Fifth Iranian Mycological Congress. Information is provided on how to make nominations for the various IMA Awards due to be presented at IMC12 in August, the new Future is Fungi Award launched in 2023, and the Adel-Azeem and Stamets Award for work on Psilocybe in Africa. The Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute Awards for 2023 were made to Andrey Yurkov and Cathie Aime and the citations to those awards are provided. We include tributes to the passing of two eminent mycologists, Lorelei Norvell and Takashi Matsushima, and also send birthday greetings to Bryce Kendrick who turned 90, and Maria Ławrynowicz, Yu Li, and Anthony Whalley who all became octogenarians. Reviews of seven mycological books published in 2022–2023 are included in the Book News section.","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139689605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seasonality and intensity of airborne Boletus-type spores in relation to land use and weather pattern","authors":"Magdalena Wójcik, Idalia Kasprzyk","doi":"10.1186/s43008-023-00135-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00135-4","url":null,"abstract":"Forests are a natural source of airborne bolete spores. The timing of sporulation and its intensity as well as the dispersal of airborne spores and in consequence their concentrations depend in particular on the type of land use determining the availability of matter on which they develop and on meteorological factors. The aim of this study was to perform a spatial and temporal analysis of the occurrence of Boletus-type spores in the warm temperate climate of the Northern Hemisphere. An assumption was made that the spore concentrations depend on the type of land cover and weather conditions. The volumetric method was applied to investigate differences in spore concentrations and using spore traps installed at different heights and at locations with different land cover types. Boletus-type spores occurred in the air at high concentrations in late summer and in the autumn. The season start dates and maximum concentrations did not differ significantly between sites and seasons, but the season intensity varied. Higher spore concentrations were usually found in the region with a larger proportion of green areas, including forests. An analysis of the diurnal cycles showed that within 24 h spore concentration reached high levels twice, which was especially noticeable in ground level monitoring. Air temperature and air humidity were the main weather factors affecting the occurrence of airborne spores. This research indicates that when studying the effects of different factors on the concentration of airborne basidiospores, many environmental elements should be analyzed, including the characteristics of habitats in which basidiomycetes grow. Climate, weather, geobotany, and land use type should be taken into account in analysis and interpretation of aeromycological phenomena.","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"71A 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138818960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The genomes of Scedosporium between environmental challenges and opportunism.","authors":"Francesco Venice, Federica Spina, Domenico Davolos, Stefano Ghignone, Giovanna Cristina Varese","doi":"10.1186/s43008-023-00128-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43008-023-00128-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Emerging fungal pathogens are a global challenge for humankind. Many efforts have been made to understand the mechanisms underlying pathogenicity in bacteria, and OMICs techniques are largely responsible for those advancements. By contrast, our limited understanding of opportunism and antifungal resistance is preventing us from identifying, limiting and interpreting the emergence of fungal pathogens. The genus Scedosporium (Microascaceae) includes fungi with high tolerance to environmental pollution, whilst some species can be considered major human pathogens, such as Scedosporium apiospermum and Scedosporium boydii. However, unlike other fungal pathogens, little is known about the genome evolution of these organisms. We sequenced two novel genomes of Scedosporium aurantiacum and Scedosporium minutisporum isolated from extreme, strongly anthropized environments. We compared all the available Scedosporium and Microascaceae genomes, that we systematically annotated and characterized ex novo in most cases. The genomes in this family were integrated in a Phylum-level comparison to infer the presence of putative, shared genomic traits in filamentous ascomycetes with pathogenic potential. The analysis included the genomes of 100 environmental and clinical fungi, revealing poor evolutionary convergence of putative pathogenicity traits. By contrast, several features in Microascaceae and Scedosporium were detected that might have a dual role in responding to environmental challenges and allowing colonization of the human body, including chitin, melanin and other cell wall related genes, proteases, glutaredoxins and magnesium transporters. We found these gene families to be impacted by expansions, orthologous transposon insertions, and point mutations. With RNA-seq, we demonstrated that most of these anciently impacted genomic features responded to the stress imposed by an antifungal compound (voriconazole) in the two environmental strains S. aurantiacum MUT6114 and S. minutisporum MUT6113. Therefore, the present genomics and transcriptomics investigation stands on the edge between stress resistance and pathogenic potential, to elucidate whether fungi were pre-adapted to infect humans. We highlight the strengths and limitations of genomics applied to opportunistic human pathogens, the multifactoriality of pathogenicity and resistance to drugs, and suggest a scenario where pressures other than anthropic contributed to forge filamentous human pathogens.</p>","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"14 1","pages":"25"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10694956/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138483447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Detection and isolation of a new member of Burkholderiaceae-related endofungal bacteria from Saksenaea boninensis sp. nov., a new thermotolerant fungus in Mucorales.","authors":"Yusuke Takashima, Kohei Yamamoto, Yousuke Degawa, Yong Guo, Tomoyasu Nishizawa, Hiroyuki Ohta, Kazuhiko Narisawa","doi":"10.1186/s43008-023-00129-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43008-023-00129-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Thermotolerance in Mucorales (Mucoromycotina) is one of the factors to be opportunistic pathogens, causing mucormycosis. Among thermotolerant mucoralean fungi, Burkholderiaceae-related endobacteria (BRE) are rarely found and the known range of hosts is limited to Rhizopus spp. The phylogenetic divergence of BRE has recently expanded in other fungal groups such as Mortierellaceae spp. (Mortierellomycotina); however, it remains unexplored in Mucorales. Here, we found a thermotolerant mucoralean fungus obtained from a litter sample collected from Haha-jima Island in the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, Japan. The fungus was morphologically, phylogenetically, and physiologically characterized and proposed as a new species, Saksenaea boninensis sp. nov. Besides the fungal taxonomy, we also found the presence of BRE in isolates of this species by diagnostic PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA gene from mycelia, fluorescence microscopic observations, and isolation of the bacterium in pure culture. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene of BRE revealed that it is distinct from all known BRE. The discovery of a culturable BRE lineage in the genus Saksenaea will add new insight into the evolutional origin of mucoralean fungus-BRE associations and emphasize the need to pay more attention to endofungal bacteria potentially associated with isolates of thermotolerant mucoralean fungi causing mucormycosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":54345,"journal":{"name":"Ima Fungus","volume":"14 1","pages":"24"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2023-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10666400/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138300628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}