Fungal physiology articles from across Nature Portfolio

In this Review, Rillig explores the diversity of fungi in the soil ecosystem, their ecological interactions and diverse ecological roles in terrestrial ecosystems as well as anthropogenic factors that affect soil fungi.

Fungal cryptochromes are photoreceptors that regulate DNA damage, cell development, and the circadian clock. Here, Landmark et al. show that a fungal cryptochrome-like photolyase regulates light- and stress-activated genes and relocates from nuclei to mitochondria in response to oxidative stress.

A fungal fusion protein of cytochrome b5 and its reductase transfers electrons to cytochrome P450 CYP540A2, enabling the hydroxylation of medium-chain fatty acids. This pathway provides an alternative route for β-oxidation in their metabolism.

Mazurkewich et al. report a phylogenetic, biochemical, and structural investigation of GH71 enzymes from Aspergillus nidulans, revealing distinct activities on α-1,3 glucooligosaccharides and roles in fungal cell wall remodeling. Their work uncovers the first GH71 structure with bound ligands, identifies a crucial DxxE catalytic dyad, and highlights the functional diversity of this poorly understood enzyme family.

A mycovirus infecting the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus enhances its stress tolerance and virulence in mice.

This study reports that mycobiota-derived metabolites can feed pathogenic Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium and promote its competitive advantage, thus revealing a role of the fungal community during bacterial infection.

A recent study characterizes an inducible morphotype of Cryptococcus neoformans that is critical for extrapulmonary organ entry.

This study shows that the composition of the fungal cell wall is highly heterogeneous and leads to heterogeneous antifungal susceptibility.