Fungal evolution articles from across Nature Portfolio

The agrochemical fungicide ipflufenoquin can drive cross-resistance to the clinical antifungal olorofim in Aspergillus fumigatus in vitro.

Most clinical isolates of the pathogenic yeast Candida orthopsilosis are hybrids of two parental lineages, only one of which has been identified. Here, del Olmo et al. show that C. orthopsilosis strains isolated from warm seawater are hybrids closely related to clinical isolates, and identify the missing parental lineage, thus providing a more complete view of the genomic evolution of this species.

Probing the evolution of bacterial endosymbionts in Mucoromycota - Mollicutes-related endobacteria (MRE) - reveals that the genera Linnemannia and Benniella acquired MRE after host divergence from a common ancestor.

Pathogens secrete effectors that evade host immunity and promote disease. The authors identify effectors conserved across fungi in which low structure divergence associates with surface energetics variation, conferring robustness and evolvability.

There are 5 million fungal species. However, the discovery and classification of fungi are in high flux. Modern concepts indicate that the three kingdoms of “fungi” are Chromista, Fungi and Protozoa. Strong support for the wrong phylogeny can occur without correct analytical methods. In the current Collection we envisaged fungi representing extremely diverse and ancient eukaryotic organisms, with familiar groups such as mushrooms, yeasts and “moulds”. We collected 6 fascinating papers in three areas of Diversity, Chemical Diversity and Evolution.

Armillaria species, fungal pathogens prevalent in temperate forests, have acquired hundreds of genes from Ascomycota fungi through horizontal gene transfer. These genes have influenced Armillaria spp. pathogenicity and plant biomass degradation abilities and contribute to uncovering key insights into the evolutionary history and ecological effects of these fungi.

This study comprehensively assesses the fitness cost of mutations conferring resistance to an antifungal drug, revealing a steep resistance–function trade-off.

This study reports the discovery of human-pathogenic filamentous Aspergillus latus allodiploid hybrids that are phenotypically distinct from the parental species.

This month’s Genome Watch highlights a large-scale sequencing project that enriches our understanding of yeast evolution and diversity.

The simultaneous, independent emergence of different clades of Candida auris and the high temperature tolerance of the species compared to other fungi has inspired researchers to propose links to climate change.