Fungal biology articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    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.

    • Anne Richter
    • , Felix Blei
    •  & Ákos T. Kovács

  • Article
    | Open Access

    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.

    • Jinhong Xie
    • , Jeffrey M. Rybak
    •  & Jarrod R. Fortwendel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    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.

    • Dante G. Calise
    • , Sung Chul Park
    •  & Nancy P. Keller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solid-state NMR snapshots of Aspergillus sydowii and other halophilic fungal species reveal the structural rearrangement of polysaccharides and proteins, which create a thick, stiff and hydrophobic cell wall to withstand external stress and thrive in hypersaline environment

    • Liyanage D. Fernando
    • , Yordanis Pérez-Llano
    •  & Tuo Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms regulating fungal-algal interactions during the formation of lichen symbioses are not clear. Here, Wang et al. establish conditions conducive to symbiotic interactions and lichen differentiation using a fungus amenable to genetic manipulation, showing the importance of a MAP kinase in lichen development.

    • Yanyan Wang
    • , Rong Li
    •  & Jin-Rong Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The death cap mushroom Amanita phalloides is invading California but little is known about how it spreads through forests. Wang et al. discover that this fungus can develop mushrooms and sporulate without mating; the nuclei involved in unisexuality appear to have persisted in invaded habitats for decades.

    • Yen-Wen Wang
    • , Megan C. McKeon
    •  & Anne Pringle

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hsp110 chaperones play important roles in protein homeostasis in eukaryotes. Here, the authors identify a small compound that inhibits fungal Hsp110s as well as the growth and viability of the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans, supporting Hsp110s as targets for development of new antifungal drugs.

    • Liqing Hu
    • , Cancan Sun
    •  & Qinglian Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pathogenic fungi of the genus Cryptococcus can undergo bisexual and unisexual reproduction. Here, the authors construct a gene-deletion library for over 100 transcription factor genes in Cryptococcus deneoformans and provide insights into regulatory cascades that are specific for each reproductive mode.

    • Pengjie Hu
    • , Hao Ding
    •  & Linqi Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mitochondrial quality control prevents accumulation of intramitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS), thus protecting cells against DNA damage. Here, Gao et al. show that an atypical heat shock factor responds to intramitochondrial stresses and regulates mtROS homeostasis in the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans.

    • Xindi Gao
    • , Yi Fu
    •  & Chen Ding

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Measuring the mass of individual microbial cells remains challenging. Here, the authors present a cell balance to monitor the proliferation of single budding yeast cells under culture conditions in real time, showing that single cells increase total mass in multiple linear segments of constant growth rates.

    • Andreas P. Cuny
    • , K. Tanuj Sapra
    •  & Daniel J. Müller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Pleiotropic Drug Resistance (PDR) network is central to drug response in fungi, and its overactivation is associated with drug resistance. Here the authors show that the chromatin remodeller SWI/SNF and the histone chaperone Rtt106 are important for PDR gene expression in fungi and therefore mediate resistance to antifungal drugs.

    • Vladislav N. Nikolov
    • , Dhara Malavia
    •  & Takashi Kubota

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The fungal cell wall is a complex structure composed mainly of glucans, chitin and glycoproteins. Here, the authors use solid-state NMR spectroscopy to assess the cell wall architecture of Aspergillus fumigatus, comparing wild-type cells and mutants lacking major structural polysaccharides, with insights into the distinct functions of these components.

    • Arnab Chakraborty
    • , Liyanage D. Fernando
    •  & Tuo Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The fungal pathogen Candida albicans can release extracellular vesicles that promote biofilm formation and antifungal resistance. Here, Zarnowski et al. define functions for numerous vesicle cargo proteins in biofilm matrix assembly and drug resistance, as well as in fungal cell adhesion and dissemination.

    • Robert Zarnowski
    • , Andrea Noll
    •  & David R. Andes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alterations of the mucosal microbiota, including Lactobacillus bacteria, are associated with infections caused by the fungus Candida albicans. Here, MacAlpine et al. show that some Lactobacillus strains produce a small molecule that blocks C. albicans filamentation and biofilm formation, and thus virulence, through inhibition of a fungal kinase.

    • Jessie MacAlpine
    • , Martin Daniel-Ivad
    •  & Leah E. Cowen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Methyl salicylate ester is a plant metabolite involved in plant-insect and plant-plant interactions. Here, Yu et al. show that a nematode-trapping fungus has potential to produce a related compound, 6-methyl salicylate, which attracts its prey (nematodes) and modulates spore germination and trap formation in the fungus.

    • Xi Yu
    • , Xiaodi Hu
    •  & Reinhard Fischer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Some bacterial pathogens release NADase enzymes into the host cell that deplete the host’s NAD+ pool, thereby causing rapid cell death. Here, Strømland et al. identify NADases on the surface of fungal spores, and show that the enzymes display unique biochemical and structural properties.

    • Øyvind Strømland
    • , Juha P. Kallio
    •  & Mathias Ziegler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mycelial fusion can favour fungal strains that exploit each other, but the mechanism is not well understood. Here, Grum-Grzhimaylo et al. show that different cheater lineages share similar deficiencies in initiating fusion that nevertheless enable them to preferentially obtain the benefits of fusion initiated by wild-type mycelia.

    • Alexey A. Grum-Grzhimaylo
    • , Eric Bastiaans
    •  & Duur K. Aanen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The kinetochore is a multi-complex structure that helps attach chromosomes to spindle microtubules, ensuring accurate chromosome segregation during cell division. Kinetochores are thought to be evolutionarily conserved, but which components are conserved is unclear. Here, the authors report that some members of the fungal phylum of Basidomycota lack many conventional kinetochore linker proteins. Instead, they possess a human Ki67-like protein that bridges the outer part of the kinetochore to centromere DNA, which may compensate for the loss of a conventional linker.

    • Shreyas Sridhar
    • , Tetsuya Hori
    •  & Kaustuv Sanyal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transcription factor Rme1 regulates meiosis and pseudohyphal growth in baker’s yeast, but its role in the meiosis-defective pathogen Candida albicans is unclear. Here, Hernández-Cervantes et al. show that Rme1 activates the expression of genes required for formation of asexual spores in Candida species.

    • Arturo Hernández-Cervantes
    • , Sadri Znaidi
    •  & Christophe d’Enfert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The fungus Neurospora crassa is a model organism for the study of various biological processes, but it is not known to be infected by any viruses. Here, Honda et al. identify RNA viruses that infect N. crassa and examine viral replication and RNAi-mediated antiviral responses, thus establishing this fungus as a model for the study of host-virus interactions.

    • Shinji Honda
    • , Ana Eusebio-Cope
    •  & Nobuhiro Suzuki

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fungi produce oxygenated fatty acids, or oxylipins, of unclear function. Here, Niu et al. show that an Aspergillus oxylipin induces various developmental processes in several fungi, including lateral branching in human pathogenic Aspergillus species, and appressorium formation in the plant pathogen Magnaporthe grisea.

    • Mengyao Niu
    • , Breanne N. Steffan
    •  & Nancy P. Keller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lipo-chitooligosaccharides (LCOs) are signaling molecules produced by certain bacteria and fungi that establish symbiotic relationships with plants. Here, the authors show that LCOs are produced also by many other, non-symbiotic fungi, and regulate fungal growth and development.

    • Tomás Allen Rush
    • , Virginie Puech-Pagès
    •  & Jean-Michel Ané

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transglycosylases strengthen the fungal cell wall by forming a rigid network of crosslinks. Here, Fang et al. show that the five Crh transglycosylases of Aspergillus fumigatus are dispensable for cell wall integrity in vitro, and solve the crystal structure of Crh5 in complex with chitooligosaccharides.

    • Wenxia Fang
    • , Ana Belén Sanz
    •  & Daan M. F. van Aalten

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors show that antifungal tolerance, defined as the fraction of growth of a fungal pathogen above the minimal inhibitory concentration, is due to the slow growth of subpopulations of cells that overcome drug stress, and that high tolerance is often associated with persistent infections.

    • Alexander Rosenberg
    • , Iuliana V. Ene
    •  & Judith Berman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Compartmentalization of enzymes into cellular organelles is a promising strategy for improving pathway efficiency. Here, the authors use a high-throughput assay to identify enhanced peroxisomal targeting signals in yeast, and study the effects of peroxisomal compartmentalization on the performance of a model pathway.

    • William C. DeLoache
    • , Zachary N. Russ
    •  & John E. Dueber

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mitochondria are asymmetrically inherited during cell division, a process that can affect cell fate and lifespan. Here the authors describe a mechanism for mitochondrial quality control in yeast that maintains a reservoir of high-functioning mitochondria in mother cells and preserves maternal reproductive capacity.

    • Wolfgang M. Pernice
    • , Jason D. Vevea
    •  & Liza A. Pon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cellobiose dehydrogenases (CDHs) cooperate with lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) to catalyse cellulose degradation. Here Tan et al. define the electron transfer pathway in CDH, providing a structural analysis of CDH conformers and of the interaction between CDH and LPMO during cellulose depolymerisation.

    • Tien-Chye Tan
    • , Daniel Kracher
    •  & Christina Divne

  • Article |

    In fission yeast, the telomerase RNA (TER) is produced through inhibition of the second step in splicing, resulting in spliceosomal cleavage. Here, the authors show that the inhibition of splicing is a conserved principle in fungal TER maturation that uses distinct molecular mechanisms across species.

    • Xiaodong Qi
    • , Dustin P. Rand
    •  & Julian J. -L. Chen

  • Article |

    Methane is an important anthropogenic greenhouse gas and is thought to be produced by industrial processes and prokaryotic methanogenic Archaea. In this study, the saprotrophic fungi,Basidiomycetes, is shown to produce methane in the absence of methanogenic Archaea.

    • Katharina Lenhart
    • , Michael Bunge
    •  & Frank Keppler

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