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Advances in Research on Ancient Terrestrial Fungi

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A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 6662

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Andrii P. Gryganskyi

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Guest Editor

UES, Inc., Dayton, OH, USA
Interests: fungi research

Prof. Dr. Ann Hajek

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Guest Editor

Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Interests: fungi research

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We intend to focus on recent progress in the research on early diverged terrestrial fungal lineages for this Special Issue. Previously regarded as monophyletic, these fungi are an assemblage of two evolutionarily independent groups: Mucoromycota comprises mostly saprotrophs, degrading dead organic sources for nutrition. Zoopagomycota contains important animal pathogens, animal commensals, and saprotrophs. Recent progress in new-generation sequencing (NGS) is resolving the phylogenetic position of different levels of these taxonomic groups, starting with species and ending with the evolutionary trajectories of all terrestrial lineages. In addition to evolutionary questions, significant progress with these early diverged fungal lineages has been made in the research on bacterial–fungal endosymbioses, commensalism, pathogenicity, and understanding metabolic pathways.

Because of the rapid progress of NGS and the availability today of extensive molecular, genomic, and transcriptomic data, we have witnessed considerable advances in the research on these early diverged, terrestrial fungal lineages, many of which were previously included in the phylum Zygomycota. Our goal is to assemble the current knowledge about these fungi from applications of modern research methods and from much-needed syntheses. We aim to describe these advances from various perspectives, which include, but are not limited to, evolution, phylogeny, taxonomy, biochemistry, metabolic pathways, bioinformatics, plant–animal–microbial interactions, and microbial communities.

Our focus is on the latest progress in the research on early diverging terrestrial fungal lineages. The areas we would like to cover in this Special Issue include the following:

Genomics and transcriptomics used in the fungal tree of life;
Mucoro- and entomophthoromycoses of animals and humans;
Commensalism with arthropods;
Population genetics of “lower” fungi;
Bacterial endosymbionts of Mucoromycota;
Interactions of “lower” fungi in biotic communities.

We are primarily interested in original research articles; however, reviews and perspective articles are also welcome.

Dr. Andrii P. Gryganskyi
Prof. Dr. Ann Hajek
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

fungal phylogeny
genomics
transcriptomics
entomopathogenic fungi
biodiversity
host–pathogen interactions
niche breadth evolution and host specificity
evolution of parasitism
detection and identification
emerging pathogens
evolutionary biology
lifecycles and morphology
One Health research

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 6810 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Involvement of AoMdr1 in the Regulation of the Fluconazole Resistance, Mycelial Fusion, Conidiation, and Trap Formation of Arthrobotrys oligospora

by Yankun Liu, Xuewei Yang, Meichen Zhu, Na Bai, Wenjie Wang and Jinkui Yang

Microorganisms 2023, 11(6), 1612; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11061612 - 19 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 949

Abstract

Multidrug resistance (Mdr) proteins are critical proteins for maintenance of drug resistance in fungi. Mdr1 has been extensively studied in Candida albicans; its role in other fungi is largely unknown. In this study, we identified a homologous protein of Mdr (AoMdr1) in the nematode-trapping (NT) fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora. It was found that the deletion of Aomdr1 resulted in a significant reduction in the number of hyphal septa and nuclei as well as increased sensitivity to fluconazole and resistance to hyperosmotic stress and SDS. The deletion of Aomdr1 also led to a remarkable increase in the numbers of traps and mycelial loops in the traps. Notably, AoMdr1 was able to regulate mycelial fusion under low-nutrient conditions, but not under nutrient-rich conditions. AoMdr1 was also involved in secondary metabolism, and its deletion caused an increase in arthrobotrisins (specific compounds produced by NT fungi). These results suggest that AoMdr1 plays a crucial role in the fluconazole resistance, mycelial fusion, conidiation, trap formation, and secondary metabolism of A. oligospora. Our study contributes to the understanding of the critical role of Mdr proteins in mycelial growth and the development of NT fungi. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Ancient Terrestrial Fungi)

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Review

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26 pages, 2101 KiB

Open AccessReview

Potential for Use of Species in the Subfamily Erynioideae for Biological Control and Biotechnology

by Andrii P. Gryganskyi, Ann E. Hajek, Nataliya Voloshchuk, Alexander Idnurm, Jørgen Eilenberg, Romina G. Manfrino, Kathryn E. Bushley, Liudmyla Kava, Vira B. Kutovenko, Felicia Anike and Yong Nie

Microorganisms 2024, 12(1), 168; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12010168 - 14 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1047

Abstract

The fungal order Entomophthorales in the Zoopagomycota includes many fungal pathogens of arthropods. This review explores six genera in the subfamily Erynioideae within the family Entomophthoraceae, namely, Erynia, Furia, Orthomyces, Pandora, Strongwellsea, and Zoophthora. This is the largest subfamily in the Entomophthorales, including 126 described species. The species diversity, global distribution, and host range of this subfamily are summarized. Relatively few taxa are geographically widespread, and few have broad host ranges, which contrasts with many species with single reports from one location and one host species. The insect orders infected by the greatest numbers of species are the Diptera and Hemiptera. Across the subfamily, relatively few species have been cultivated in vitro, and those that have require more specialized media than many other fungi. Given their potential to attack arthropods and their position in the fungal evolutionary tree, we discuss which species might be adopted for biological control purposes or biotechnological innovations. Current challenges in the implementation of these species in biotechnology include the limited ability or difficulty in culturing many in vitro, a correlated paucity of genomic resources, and considerations regarding the host ranges of different species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Ancient Terrestrial Fungi)

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24 pages, 1601 KiB

Open AccessReview

Sequencing the Genomes of the First Terrestrial Fungal Lineages: What Have We Learned?

by Andrii P. Gryganskyi, Jacob Golan, Anna Muszewska, Alexander Idnurm, Somayeh Dolatabadi, Stephen J. Mondo, Vira B. Kutovenko, Volodymyr O. Kutovenko, Michael T. Gajdeczka, Iryna M. Anishchenko, Julia Pawlowska, Ngoc Vinh Tran, Ingo Ebersberger, Kerstin Voigt, Yan Wang, Ying Chang, Teresa E. Pawlowska, Joseph Heitman, Rytas Vilgalys, Gregory Bonito, Gerald L. Benny, Matthew E. Smith, Nicole Reynolds, Timothy Y. James, Igor V. Grigoriev, Joseph W. Spatafora and Jason E. Stajich Show full author list Hide full author list

Microorganisms 2023, 11(7), 1830; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071830 - 18 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3035

Abstract

The first genome sequenced of a eukaryotic organism was for Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as reported in 1996, but it was more than 10 years before any of the zygomycete fungi, which are the early-diverging terrestrial fungi currently placed in the phyla Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota, were sequenced. The genome for Rhizopus delemar was completed in 2008; currently, more than 1000 zygomycete genomes have been sequenced. Genomic data from these early-diverging terrestrial fungi revealed deep phylogenetic separation of the two major clades—primarily plant—associated saprotrophic and mycorrhizal Mucoromycota versus the primarily mycoparasitic or animal-associated parasites and commensals in the Zoopagomycota. Genomic studies provide many valuable insights into how these fungi evolved in response to the challenges of living on land, including adaptations to sensing light and gravity, development of hyphal growth, and co-existence with the first terrestrial plants. Genome sequence data have facilitated studies of genome architecture, including a history of genome duplications and horizontal gene transfer events, distribution and organization of mating type loci, rDNA genes and transposable elements, methylation processes, and genes useful for various industrial applications. Pathogenicity genes and specialized secondary metabolites have also been detected in soil saprobes and pathogenic fungi. Novel endosymbiotic bacteria and viruses have been discovered during several zygomycete genome projects. Overall, genomic information has helped to resolve a plethora of research questions, from the placement of zygomycetes on the evolutionary tree of life and in natural ecosystems, to the applied biotechnological and medical questions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Ancient Terrestrial Fungi)

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13 pages, 1741 KiB

Open AccessReview

Diversity and Breadth of Host Specificity among Arthropod Pathogens in the Entomophthoromycotina

by Natalie E. Sacco and Ann E. Hajek

Microorganisms 2023, 11(7), 1658; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071658 - 26 Jun 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1108

Abstract

A meta-analysis based on the published literature was conducted to evaluate the breadth of host ranges of arthropod pathogens in the fungal subphylum Entomophthoromycotina. The majority of pathogens in this subphylum infect insects, although arachnids (especially mites), collembola, and myriapods are also used as hosts. Most species (76%) have specialized host ranges and only infect arthropods in one host family. The breadth of host ranges in the Entomophthoromycotina is generally greater for species in more basal groups (Conidiobolaceae and Neoconidiobolaceae), where most species are soil-borne saprobes and few are pathogens. The Batkoaceae is a transitionary family in which all species are pathogens and both generalists and specialists occur. Among pathogen-infecting insects, Hemiptera and Diptera are the most commonly infected insect orders. Within the Hemiptera, hosts in the suborder Sternorrhycha were infected by more fungal species than the Auchenorrhyncha and Heteroptera. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Ancient Terrestrial Fungi)

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