Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Fungal biology is the scientific discipline that concerns the biology of fungi, which include unicellular microorganisms as well as large multicellular organisms. Fungal biology is sometimes called mycology, a term that was coined by botanists when it was still assumed that fungi were plants.
Bacterial-fungal interactions can stimulate the production of specialised microbial metabolites. Here, Richter et al. use co-culture experimental evolution to show that the presence of a fungus selects for increased surfactin production in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis, which inhibits fungal growth and facilitates the competitive success of the bacterium.
Antifungal triazoles inhibit biosynthesis of ergosterol, a crucial component of the fungal plasma membrane. Here, Xie et al. show that Erg6, the enzyme that catalyzes a previous step in ergosterol biosynthesis, is essential for the viability of Aspergillus fumigatus, and its repression reduces the virulence of this fungal pathogen in an animal model of infection.
Echinocandins are antifungal drugs that inhibit hyphal growth and induce lysis of hyphal tip compartments in pathogenic Aspergillus species. Here, Calise et al. show that echinocandins induce production of a fungal oxylipin signal, thus triggering hyphal growth changes that reduce hyphal tip lysis and confer echinocandin tolerance.
Triazole antifungals are widely used and exert their action by inhibiting ergosterol biosynthesis. Here, Rybak et al show that these drugs both inhibit ergosterol biosynthesis and induce accumulation of pathway intermediates that directly induce inhibition of sterol synthesis.
Teresa O’Meara recounts her experience of approaching the emerging fungal pathogen, Candida auris, with an open mind, enabling her laboratory to uncover its unique biology.
This study shows that hyphae formation is critical for Candida albicans gut colonization in the presence of commensal bacteria owing to the production of a hyphal-associated factor.
This study reports the identification of the novel Candida auris-specific adhesin Scf1, which, together with the adhesin Iff4109, is a key mediator of surface association, infection and long-term colonization.
This study shows that healthy individuals are reservoirs for genotypically and phenotypically diverse Candida albicans strains that retain their capacity to cause disease.