All Fungi articles
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NewsRoot microbes could help oak trees adapt to drought
Microbes could help oak trees cope with environmental change. A study observing oaks growing in a natural woodland found that the trees’ above- and below-ground microbiomes were resilient to drought, nutrient scarcity, and exposure to pathogenic beetles and bacteria.
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NewsRapid response launched to tackle new yellow rust strains threatening UK wheat
The UK’s wheat is under threat from a newly identified strain of the yellow rust pathogen, prompting an urgent mobilisation of research institutes to protect harvests. The new strain has overcome a key resistance gene that was protecting many major UK wheat varieties from yellow rust infection.
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NewsAccomplices in the spotlight: When the interaction between fungi and bacteria becomes a dangerous alliance
Researchers discover new co-infection strategies of Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis. Only some E. faecalis strains significantly increased cell damage when infected simultaneously with Candida albicans. These strains produced cytolysin, a toxin that perforates cell membranes and kills the cells.
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NewsBee bandits: ecologists study mutualistic plant-pollinator-microbe interactions
Researchers studying nectar-robbing behavior in bumble bees suspect other organisms beyond plants and pollinators may be aiding and abetting pollinators in nectar-robbing behavior.
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NewsObesity linked to one in 10 infection deaths globally
Just over one in 10 deaths from a wide range of infectious diseases can be attributed to obesity worldwide, finds a major new study. People with obesity face a 70% higher risk of hospitalisation or death from an infection than those of a healthy weight.
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News Engineered moths could replace mice in research into “one of the biggest threats to human health”
Scientists have created the world’s first genetically engineered wax moths – a development which could both accelerate the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and significantly reduce the need for mice and rats in infection research.
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FeaturesFrom roots to riches: mycorrhizal fungi and the future of farming
Feeding a growing population while rebuilding depleted soils is one of agriculture’s biggest challenges. When fungal networks are thriving, they can improve nutrient uptake, support stronger root systems, and reduce the need for fuels to stretch as far, with their input. It’s a small-scale partnership with big implications for the future of farming…
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NewsYeast cells can be used for rapid testing of cancer immunotherapy
An international research team has developed a new yeast-based biotechnological platform that makes it possible to test and understand advanced cancer treatments much faster and cheaper than before. It can reduce development time for new types of cancer immunotherapy from months to days or weeks.
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News A fungus living in our body can make melanoma more aggressive
A study has for the first time established the mechanism by means of which the Candida albicans fungus makes melanoma more aggressive. It activates several signalling pathways in the melanoma cells, creating an environment that helps to reprogram angiogenesis and metabolism.
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NewsHow a single protein helps a fungal pathogen invade tea oil trees
Scientists report the discovery of a key mitophagy regulator in Colletotrichum camelliae, the fungus responsible for anthracnose in tea oil trees. A SUN family protein, CaSun1, directly recruits the autophagy protein CaAtg8 to mitochondria, enabling mitophagy during infection.
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NewsHow fire-loving fungi learned to eat charcoal
Wildfire causes most living things to flee or die, but some fungi thrive afterward, even feasting on charred remains. A new study is among the first to investigate how fungi that are barely detectable in the soil before a fire are able to proliferate wildly once an area has burned.
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NewsFrom biocidal coatings to medicines: A nanocomposite sting for microorganisms
A surface capable of responding to chemical signals generated by microorganisms and automatically producing biocidal substances – a description of how the B-STING silica nanocomposite works. The new material acts as a nanofactory of reactive oxygen species, activating only when necessary.
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NewsCultivated peanut AhPR10 gene family mediates resistance to Aspergillus flavus
Researchers identified and analyzed PR10 genes in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), and found three genes that demonstrated potential importance in peanut resistance to Aspergillus flavus.
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NewsNew tool shows how to enter and change pneumocystis fungi
Researchers have reported success in genetically modifying the fungal pathogen Pneumocystis murina. Their approach uses extracellular vesicles from mouse lungs to deliver gene-modifying molecules inside the fungal cells. The modified fungus expressed the introduced genomic modifications.
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NewsScientists use AI to uncover the secret lives of fungi
Scientists have developed an automated workflow that assesses scientific abstracts and accurately identifies whether a fungus has a single lifestyle or a dual, flexible one. Understanding this flexibility is vital for predicting how forests and farms will react to climate change.
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NewsSerum interleukin-8 can tell pulmonary aspergillosis from bacterial pneumonia in patients with liver failure
Scientists found serum interleukin-8 can be used to differentiate invasive pulmonary aspergillosis from bacterial pneumonia in patients with HBV-associated acute-on-chronic liver failure.
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NewsFungus unlocks hidden phosphorus from massive industrial waste
Researchers have shown that Aspergillus niger can extract large amounts of residual phosphorus from phosphogypsum, a byproduct of phosphoric acid production that is generated in enormous quantities worldwide. More than 40 per cent of the phosphorus locked inside this waste material can be recovered.
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NewsNative fungi from almond orchards show promise as sustainable defenders against a devastating crop disease
Researchers report that naturally occurring fungi found on and within almond trees can strongly suppress Colletotrichum godetiae, the primary cause of almond anthracnose in the Mediterranean Basin.
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NewsFirst known lichen in the fossil record helped structure terrestrial ecosystems
A group of researchers has confirmed the identity of the first lichens to inhabit Earth, Spongiophyton, around 410 million years ago, in great detail for the first time. The study confirms that the symbiosis between fungi and algae that dissolves rocks helped form the first soils.
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NewsEpigenetic switch strengthens plant immunity against downy mildew
Researchers investigating how epigenetic regulators influence resistance to downy mildew in Brassica rapa identified BrHDA6 as a positive regulator of disease resistance and demonstrated that it enhances immunity by modifying a key enzyme in salicylic acid metabolism.