The histidine kinase CpHK2 has impact on spore germination, oxidative stress and fungicide resistance, and virulence of the ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea

Histidine kinases are important mediators for adaptation of bacteria and plants to environmental signals. Genome analyses of filamentous fungi have revealed the presence of a high number of potential hybrid histidine kinase (HK)-encoding genes; the role of most of these potential sensors is so far unclear, though some members of the class III histidine kinases were shown to be involved in osmostress responses. Here we present a functional analysis of cphk2 , a histidine kinase-encoding gene in the biotrophic grass pathogen Claviceps purpurea . The putative product of cphk2 (CpHK2) was shown to group within family X of fungal HKs and it had high homology to the oxidative stress sensors SpMAK2/3 of Schizosaccharomyces pombe . Analysis of a cphk2 deletion mutant indicated that this histidine kinase is involved in spore germination, sensitivity to oxidative stress and fungicide resistance. In addition, virulence of the D cphk2 mutant on rye was significantly reduced compared with the wild-type strain, even if the conidial titre was adjusted to the lower germination rate. This is the first report of a role for a class X histidine kinase in a filamentous fungus.     

真菌类过氧化物酶体增殖因子PEX11基因家族生物信息学研究

PEX11基因家族成员是参与过氧化物酶体增殖调控的关键因子,文章利用生物信息学方法对26种代表性真菌的PEX11基因家族成员进行了检索和进化分析。研究发现:(1)26种真菌中共有66个可能的PEX11p。酵母类真菌有1个或2个PEX11p,而大多数丝状真菌中包含2到3个,其中子囊菌中PEX11p的个数偏多,个别种类达到5个;(2)真菌PEX11p可分为3类,大多数真菌含有类型Ⅰ和类型Ⅲ的PEX11p,类型Ⅱ是盘菌亚门真菌所特有的,可能与类型Ⅰ和类型Ⅱ在功能上有冗余;(3)通过MEME分析,发现PEX11p含有多个保守区域,其中C末端的Motif8具有很高的保守性,推测可能对PEX11p发挥功能具有重要作用。文章对进一步研究真菌PEX11p的进化与功能以及过氧化物酶体的增殖具有重要意义。     

Fungal transposons: from mobile elements towards molecular tools

Over the last few years an increasing number of transposons has been identified and characterized in filamentous fungi. This includes members of all known eukaryotic classes of transposable elements. Most interestingly, transposons have also been identified in fungi that are used in biotechnology which could provide new tools for strain improvement or gene tagging. Transposons have already been used for diagnostic and population analysis of fungal strains. The first attempts towards transposon-aided gene tagging have been promising and future efforts will almost certainly add a new and powerful method for gene identification in filamentous fungi. Received: 12 February 1999 / Revision received: 8 April 1999 / Accepted: 9 April 1999     

Use of fungal metabolites to protect wood-based panels against mould infection

Wood-based composites such as oriented strand board (OSB) are principle framing elements in building construction in North America. However, these materials are often affected by moulds in wet or humid environmental conditions. A common control method for prevention of mould growth on panels is preservative treatment of panels with various pesticides or chemicals. In recent years, environmentally friendly pest control methods are required because of environmental issue. This research aimed to develop a biological technology to protect OSB against mould infection by post-treatment of panels with natural extracts from fungal antagonists. In this study, the culture metabolites of a fungal antagonist, Phaeotheca dimorphospora DesRochers & Ouellette, were extracted, and the antibiotic activity of the extracts was tested in Petri plates against various moulds and decay fungi. The OSB panels were then dip-treated with the extracts and exposed to a humid environment for mould growth testing in a period of 8 weeks. The results showed that the mycelia growth of all fungi tested (moulds, white-rot and brown-rot fungi) was inhibited by the extracts of P. dimorphospora on agar plates. Panel samples dipped with the fungal extracts in acetone got little mould growth on them, whereas untreated control panels and those samples treated with acetone alone were seriously affected by various moulds.     

Recent developments in the taxonomic affiliation and phylogenetic positioning of fungi: impact in applied microbiology and environmental biotechnology

The goal of modern taxonomy is to understand the relationships of living organisms in terms of evolutionary descent. Thereby, the relationships between living organisms are understood in terms of nested clades—every time a speciation event takes place, two new clades are produced. Life comprises three domains of living organisms, these are the Bacteria, the Archaea and the Eukaryota. Within the eukaryotic domain, the fungi form a monophyletic group of the eukaryotic crown group and are thus high up in the evolutionary hierarchy of life. Fungus-like organisms possess certain morphological features of fungi, such as the hyphal organization of the Oomycota or the spores and reproductive structures inside a fructification of plasmodiophorids (Plasmodiophoromycota) and slime moulds (Mycetozoa). The first group are algae which secondarily lost their plastids during evolution and contain cellulose in their cell walls. Both osmotrophic phyla, the Oomycota and the Plasmidiophoromycota belong to the Chromista and Rhizaria, respectively, whereas the last group, the cellular and plasmodial slime moulds (Mycetozoa) are phagotrophic amoeboid protists belonging to the Amoebozoa. These fungus-like organisms are not considered further in this review. The Fungi sensu stricto comprise a heterogenous, often inconspicuous group of microorganisms which (1) are primarily heterotrophic with an (2) osmotrophic style of nutrition containing (3) chitin and its derivatives in the cell wall. This review discusses species concepts and current strategies in fungal taxonomy, phylogenetic affiliations of miscellaneous fungus-like groups like the microsporidia, perspectives of fungal nomenclature, and their impact on natural product research.     

Evidence for specificity to Glomus group Ab in two Asian mycoheterotrophic Burmannia species

Nonphotosynthetic mycorrhizal plants, so‐called mycoheterotrophic plants, have long attracted the curiosity of botanists and mycologists. Recent advances in molecular methods based on fungal‐specific PCR amplification have dramatically enhanced the identification of their host mycorrhizal fungi. However, studies investigating the fungal hosts of arbuscular mycorrhizae‐forming mycoheterotrophs are still limited in Asia, which is known as one of the diversity hot spots of mycoheterotrophs that parasitize arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM). Therefore, we aimed to reveal the mycorrhizal associations of two Asian, fully mycoheterotrophic Burmannia species by molecular identification. Sequences of the small subunit ribosomal DNA showed that both Burmannia species are associated with several distinct lineages of Glomus group Ab. Because Glomus group Ab fungi have been confirmed as fungal hosts of various mycoheterotrophic plants in Africa and South America, we suggest they are widely exploited by AM‐forming mycoheterotrophs globally.     

Identification and incidence of fungal strains in chronic rhinosinusitis patients

The fungal revolution taking place in otorhinology inspired us to study the frequency of occurrence of fungi in the nasal mucus of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients (with or without polyposis) in order to evaluate the incidence of eosinophilic fungal sinusitis in CRS patients. Ninety-six samples were examined from patients with CRS. In 74 cases mucus was collected non-invasively, and in 22 cases during operation. The Gram-stained direct smears of all samples were also evaluated. Bacteria and fungi colonizing in the mucus were detected by culturing method. The control group consisted of 50 healthy volunteers. Typical aerobic pathogenic bacteria could be isolated from 34 patients. Fifty-seven aerobic bacteria were isolated, i.e. 1.6 bacteria/positive patient with a maximum of 3 different bacteria/sample. The most frequently isolated bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae. Yeasts and moulds could be detected from 79 patients (83%): Candida albicans, Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp, and Penicillium spp. were isolated most frequently. Altogether 237 yeasts and moulds were isolated, i.e. 3.0 different fungi/positive patient, with a maximum of 5 different fungi/sample. In the control group aerobic pathogens were not isolated, only apathogenic species. Fungi were isolated from 22 healthy patients (44%). These data indicate that fungi are frequently involved in the aetiology of CRS. IgE-medicated hypersensitivity to fungal allergens could not be proven in our patients.     

Competition with filamentous fungi and its implication for a gregarious lifestyle in insects living on ephemeral resources

Abstract. 1. Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of positive density dependence in the survival and development of Drosophila (the so‐called Allee effect); however the underlying mechanisms of such Allee effects have remained elusive. Competition with filamentous fungi have often been suggested to be involved in causing high mortality at low larval density, but it has not yet been explicitly tested if the well known spatial aggregation of insect eggs yields a fitness benefit for the developing larvae in the presence of noxious moulds. 2. Using Drosophila melanogaster, the present study tested whether larval survival is greater in aggregations when confronted with various combinations of three representative mould species (Aspergillus, Alternaria, and Penicillium) and a head start for fungal development. 3. High rates of fungal‐dependent mortality and significant positive density‐dependent larval survival (i.e. Allee effects) were observed when larvae were confronted with food resources containing established colonies of Aspergillus or Alternaria. Neither the simultaneous transfer of Aspergillus or Alternaria spores with larvae to food patches nor food infections with Penicillium affected insect larval development. 4. Significant correlations between mould growth and larval survival could be identified, although the patterns that emerged were shown to be inconsistent when the effects were compared between fungal species and fungal priority. Because mould growth only partly explained larval survival, the influence of other fungal‐borne factors, e.g. mycotoxins, needs to be elucidated in order to understand the mechanistic basis of insect–mould interactions. 5. These results are the first to argue convincingly for moulds being involved in mediating Allee effects for insects on ephemeral resources; however they also demonstrate an unexpected diversity in insect–mould interactions. Considering this diversity may be important in understanding insect spatial ecology.     

Further advances in orchid mycorrhizal research

Orchid mycorrhizas are mutualistic interactions between fungi and members of the Orchidaceae, the world’s largest plant family. The majority of the world’s orchids are photosynthetic, a small number of species are myco-heterotrophic throughout their lifetime, and recent research indicates a third mode (mixotrophy) whereby green orchids supplement their photosynthetically fixed carbon with carbon derived from their mycorrhizal fungus. Molecular identification studies of orchid-associated fungi indicate a wide range of fungi might be orchid mycobionts, show common fungal taxa across the globe and support the view that some orchids have specific fungal interactions. Confirmation of mycorrhizal status requires isolation of the fungi and restoration of functional mycorrhizas. New methods may now be used to store orchid-associated fungi and store and germinate seed, leading to more efficient culture of orchid species. However, many orchid mycorrhizas must be synthesised before conservation of these associations can be attempted in the field. Further gene expression studies of orchid mycorrhizas are needed to better understand the establishment and maintenance of the interaction. These data will add to efforts to conserve this diverse and valuable association.     

Fungal evolution: major ecological adaptations and evolutionary transitions

Fungi are a highly diverse group of heterotrophic eukaryotes characterized by the absence of phagotrophy and the presence of a chitinous cell wall. While unicellular fungi are far from rare, part of the evolutionary success of the group resides in their ability to grow indefinitely as a cylindrical multinucleated cell (hypha). Armed with these morphological traits and with an extremely high metabolical diversity, fungi have conquered numerous ecological niches and have shaped a whole world of interactions with other living organisms. Herein we survey the main evolutionary and ecological processes that have guided fungal diversity. We will first review the ecology and evolution of the zoosporic lineages and the process of terrestrialization, as one of the major evolutionary transitions in this kingdom. Several plausible scenarios have been proposed for fungal terrestralization and we here propose a new scenario, which considers icy environments as a transitory niche between water and emerged land. We then focus on exploring the main ecological relationships of Fungi with other organisms (other fungi, protozoans, animals and plants), as well as the origin of adaptations to certain specialized ecological niches within the group (lichens, black fungi and yeasts). Throughout this review we use an evolutionary and comparative‐genomics perspective to understand fungal ecological diversity. Finally, we highlight the importance of genome‐enabled inferences to envision plausible narratives and scenarios for important transitions.     

In vitro antifungal activity of voriconazole: New data after the first years of clinical experience

Voriconazole has been developed to meet the increasing need for new and useful antifungal agents for the treatment of invasive mycoses. This review describes the spectrum of voriconazole antifungal activity based on data from in vitro studies published during the last three years. This survey demonstrates that voriconazole has a broad antifungal spectrum against the most common fungal pathogens being its action fungistatic for Candida and fungicidal for Aspergillus and other filamentous fungi. Overall, more than 95% of all Candida isolates tested are susceptible to voriconazole and less than 3% are resistant. Similar or even better activity rates have been described for Aspergillus, Cryptococcus and most of yeasts and moulds of medical importance. We also discuss the limitations related to the azole cross-resistance observed in some Candida glabrata isolates, the poor activity of voriconazole against Scedosporium prolificans, its activity against fungal biofilms and the great potential usefulness of combination of voriconazole with other antifungal drugs.     

Type III polyketide synthases in natural product biosynthesis

Polyketides represent an important class of biologically active and structurally diverse compounds in nature. They are synthesized from acyl-coenzyme A substrates by polyketide synthases (PKSs). PKSs are classified into three groups: types I, II, and III. This article introduces recent studies on type III PKSs identified from plants, bacteria, and fungi, and describes the catalytic functions of these enzymes in detail. Plant type III PKSs have been widely studied, as exemplified by chalcone synthase, which plays an important role in the synthesis of plant metabolites. Bacterial type III PKSs fall into five groups, many of which were identified from Streptomyces, a genus that has been well known for its production of bioactive molecules and genetic alterability. Although it was believed that type III PKSs exist exclusively in plants and bacteria, recent fungal genome sequencing projects and biochemical studies revealed the presence of type III PKSs in filamentous fungi, which provides a new chance to study fungal secondary metabolism and synthesize "unnatural" natural products. Type III PKSs have been used for the biosynthesis of novel molecules through precursor-directed and structure-based mutagenesis approaches.     

真菌系统学大趋势：越来越多的分类单元

分子生物学技术与真菌系统学的有机融合,为真菌分类和系统发育研究带来了革命性的变化。最近20年来,真菌学家们建立了大量的新目、新科、新属和新种,掀开了真菌多样性及其起源进化研究的新纪元,但很多重要的系统发育问题仍没有解决,特别是大量目间、科间的亲缘关系并不清楚。细分是真菌系统学的主流趋势,野生食用菌和毒蘑菇的分类也是如此,近年涌现了越来越多的新分类单元,如在2010-2019年的10年间,中国发表大型真菌（含地衣）新种1 240余个。本专刊收载的15篇论文是对我国野生食用菌和毒蘑菇研究工作的部分总结,对真菌资源利用、毒蘑菇中毒预防与治疗具有较重要的科学意义和应用价值。     

真菌类过氧化物酶体增殖因子PEX11基因家族生物信息学研究

PEX11基因家族成员是参与过氧化物酶体增殖调控的关键因子, 文章利用生物信息学方法对26种代表性真菌的PEX11基因家族成员进行了检索和进化分析。研究发现：(1)26种真菌中共有66个可能的PEX11p。酵母类真菌有1个或2个PEX11p, 而大多数丝状真菌中包含2到3个, 其中子囊菌中PEX11p的个数偏多, 个别种类达到5个; (2)真菌PEX11p可分为3类, 大多数真菌含有类型Ⅰ和类型Ⅲ的PEX11p, 类型Ⅱ是盘菌亚门真菌所特有的, 可能与类型Ⅰ和类型Ⅲ在功能上有冗余; (3)通过MEME分析, 发现PEX11p含有多个保守区域, 其中C末端的Motif8具有很高的保守性, 推测可能对PEX11p发挥功能具有重要作用。文章对进一步研究真菌PEX11p的进化与功能以及过氧化物酶体的增殖具有重要意义。     

Application of species richness estimators for the assessment of fungal diversity

Species richness and distribution patterns of wood-inhabiting fungi and mycetozoans (slime moulds) were investigated in the canopy of a Central European temperate mixed deciduous forest. Species richness was described with diversity indices and species-accumulation curves. Nonmetrical multidimensional scaling was used to assess fungal species composition on different tree species. Different species richness estimators were used to extrapolate species richness beyond our own data. The reliability of the abundance-based coverage estimator, Chao, Jackknife and other estimators of species richness was evaluated for mycological surveys. While the species-accumulation curve of mycetozoans came close to saturation, that of wood-inhabiting fungi was continuously rising. The Chao 2 richness estimator was considered most appropriate to predict the number of species at the investigation site if sampling were continued. Gray's predictor of species richness should be used if statements of the number of species in larger areas are required. Multivariate analysis revealed the importance of different tree species for the conservation and maintenance of fungal diversity within forests, because each tree species possessed a characteristic fungal community. The described mathematical approaches of estimating species richness possess great potential to address fungal diversity on a regional, national, and global scale.     

Pteridophyte fungal associations: Current knowledge and future perspectives

Current understanding of the nature and function of fungal associations in pteridophytes is surprisingly patchy given their key evolutionary position, current research foci on other early-branching plant clades, and major efforts at unravelling mycorrhizal evolution and the mechanisms underlying this key interaction between plants and fungi. Here we provide a critical review of current knowledge of fungal associations across pteridophytes and consider future directions making recommendations along the way. From a comprehensive survey of the literature, a confused picture emerges: suggestions that members of the Lycopsida harbour Basidiomycota fungi contrast sharply with extensive cytological and recent molecular evidence pointing to exclusively Glomeromycota and/or Mucoromycotina associations in this group. Similarly, reports of dark septate, assumingly ascomycetous, hyphae in a range of pteridophytes, advocating a mutualistic relationship, are not backed by functional evidence and the fact that the fungus invariably occupies dead host tissue points to saprotrophy and not mutualism. The best conclusion that can be reached based on current evidence is that the fungal symbionts of pteridophytes belong to the two fungal lineages Mucoromycotina and Glomeromycota. Do symbiotic fungi and host pteridophytes engage in mutually beneficial partnerships? To date, only two pioneering studies have addressed this key question demonstrating reciprocal exchange of nutrients between the sporophytes of Ophioglossum vulgatum and Osmunda regalis and their fungal symbionts. There is a pressing need for more functional investigations also extending to the gametophyte generation and coupled with in vitro isolation and resynthesis studies to unravel the effect of the fungi on their host.     

Biological detoxification of mycotoxins: a review

Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites and are reported to be carcinogenic, genotoxic, teratogenic, dermato-, nephro- and hepatotoxic. Several studies have shown that economic losses due to mycotoxins occur at all levels of food and feed production, including crop and animal production, processing and distribution. Therefore, there is a great demand for a novel approach to prevent both the formation of mycotoxins in food and feed and the impact of existing mycotoxin contamination. Recently, investigators have reported that many microorganisms including bacteria, yeast, moulds, actinomycetes and algae are able to remove or degrade mycotoxins in food and feed. We have reviewed various strategies for the detoxification of mycotoxins using microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and fungi.     

Taxonomic gap in wood-inhabiting fungi: identifying understudied groups by a systematic survey

Despite advances in phylogenetic research and the number of ecological studies focusing on wood-inhabiting fungi, these species still represent a taxonomically poorly known group of organisms. In this study, our overall aim was to detect and characterize the understudied wood-inhabiting fungal groups in the beech forests of Navarre (northern Spain). We present a list of 326 wood-inhabiting fungal species, out of which 36 % are first regional records. Comparing the already recorded fungal species in this territory and the list of firstly recorded species, we found that field-mycologists tend to focus on certain fungal groups, and in general rare species are less frequently encountered. Particularly, species with corticioid fruit body type have been especially overlooked in this territory. We attribute the high proportion of new regional records to the use of a systematic sampling design.     

DNA分子标记技术在真菌系统学研究中的应用及影响

DNA分子标记技术为真菌系统进化研究提供了许多新的方法,真菌分子系统学已成为一门成熟的学科。简述了真菌分子系统学的发展简史和代表性的研究方法以及对真菌系统学的主要贡献,包括将广义的真菌划分为3个类群,粘菌和卵菌不再属于真菌界成员。真菌生命之树项目的研究结果对真菌界高阶分类系统作出重大调整,将先前的4个门(壶菌门、接合菌门、子囊菌门和担子菌门)变为7个门(微孢子虫门、壶菌门、新丽鞭毛菌门、芽枝霉门、球囊菌门、子囊菌门和担子菌门)和4个亚门,并对真菌各类群概念作出修订。此外,DNA分子标记技术对真菌种概念的认识、有性型-无性型关联及分子生态学等研究领域产生了重要影响。