Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Sofie E. Svensson, Jorge A. Ferreira, Minna Hakkarainen, Karin H. Adolfsson, Akram Zamani
Summary: The study demonstrates the successful wet spinning of the cell wall of a zygomycetes fungus into monofilament yarns, which can be used as a novel resource for sustainable textile production. By cultivating the fungus on abundant food waste and collecting the fungal cell wall through alkali treatment, renewable fibers with high tensile strength and Young's modulus can be fabricated.
SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Teppo Rama, C. Alisha Quandt
Summary: To expand the pool of fungal secondary metabolites, silent gene clusters can be activated or the diversity of existing culture collections can be increased. Exploring the chemical diversity of previously uncultured fungi is an important strategy to discover new natural products.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Andrew S. Urquhart, Donald M. Gardiner
Summary: Fungal spore killers are genetic elements that promote their own inheritance by killing non-inheriting gametes. However, little is known about how they kill other spores within the fungal ascus. In this study, we investigate the spore killer protein SPOK1 in Podospora anserina and demonstrate that it kills by targeting DNA. This finding provides insights into the mechanisms of spore killers and their potential applications.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Peter William Piper, Julia Elizabeth Scott, Stefan Heber Millson
Summary: The folding of the myosin head requires a UCS chaperone protein. Different organisms have different types of UCS proteins, and their functions in animals and fungi diverged before a billion years ago. The UCS proteins in fungi and their interactions with Hsp70/Hsp90 chaperones are not well understood.
Review
Engineering, Chemical
Roxana Madalina Stoica, Misu Moscovici, Elena Simina Lakatos, Lucian Ionel Cioca
Summary: Fungal exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are important bioactive compounds secreted by fungi. They have various biological activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-diabetic, and anticoagulant effects, and can be used in pharmaceutical applications. This paper reviews the main fungal polysaccharides, highlighting their structures, producing strains, and usefulness as drug carriers and immunomodulating agents in cancer therapy.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Camille Filiatrault-Chastel, Senta Heiss-Blanquet, Antoine Margeot, Jean-Guy Berrin
Summary: Bioeconomy is a way to reduce the carbon footprint of human activities by utilizing enzymes as biocatalysts, with fungal secretomes playing a crucial role in providing services and goods. The complex enzyme sets secreted by filamentous fungi can be utilized as enzyme cocktails to enhance the value of various bioresources.
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Adriana Jazmin Legorreta-Castaneda, Carlos Alexander Lucho-Constantino, Claudia Coronel-Olivares, Rosa Icela Beltran-Hernandez, Gabriela A. Vazquez-Rodriguez
Summary: The research found that the biosorption of silver and gold by Aspergillus tabacinus and Cladosporium cladosporioides pellets differed, with the pseudo-second-order model adequately representing biosorption kinetics, which is significant for the recovery of precious metals from wastewater.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Antoni Gandia, Jeroen G. van den Brandhof, Freek V. W. Appels, Mitchell P. Jones
Summary: Fungi are a revolutionary and sustainable manufacturing platform that can convert byproducts and waste into flexible fungal materials, which have a wide range of applications and contribute to improving global environmental sustainability.
TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Miriam Van den Nest, Gernot Wagner, Martin Riesenhuber, Constantin Dolle, Elisabeth Presterl, Gerald Gartlehner, Deddo Moertl, Birgit Willinger
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology and clinical outcomes of patients with filamentous fungal infections at the University Hospital of Vienna, Austria. Among 129 patients included in the study, the 30-day and 90-day overall mortality rates for invasive fungal infections were found to be 30.2% and 42.7%, respectively. Prospective data collection in a nationwide registry is suggested for providing important information on surveillance to clinicians and decision-makers.
Article
Microbiology
Charles Puerner, Antonio Serrano, Rohan S. Wakade, Martine Bassilana, Robert A. Arkowitz
Summary: The Spitzenkorper cluster at the tip of fungal hyphae is believed to function as a vesicle supply center, impacting growth and morphology in Candida albicans. The Mlc1 protein in this cluster plays a negative regulatory role in filament diameter and extension rate.
Review
Microbiology
Viorica Maria Corbu, Irina Gheorghe-Barbu, Andreea Stefania Dumbrava, Corneliu Ovidiu Vrancianu, Tatiana Eugenia Sesan
Summary: In addition to plants and animals, the Fungi kingdom encompasses diverse species with various forms and applications. They can be found in all types of habitats and play a crucial role in maintaining the ecosystem, such as decomposing plant material for carbon and nutrient cycling, as well as forming symbiotic relationships with plants. Fungi have been utilized for centuries in numerous sectors, including food, beverages, and medications. Recently, their importance has been recognized in environmental protection, agriculture, and various industrial applications. This article reviews the beneficial roles of fungi in enzyme and pigment production, applications in food and pharmaceutical industries, environmental and research domains, as well as the negative impacts of fungi as producers of secondary metabolites, causal agents of diseases in plants, animals, and humans, and deteriorating agents.
Review
Microbiology
Ety Harish, Nir Osherov
Summary: Priming refers to the development of a stronger and more protective response in an organism after exposure to mild stress. This memory of previously encountered stress provides a significant survival advantage in a rapidly changing environment. Priming has been observed in animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria, with diverse mechanisms.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Abeer R. M. Abd El-Aziz, Monira R. Al-Othman, Sameh M. Hisham, Shereen M. Shehata
Summary: The use of potent fungal mixed cultures is a promising technique for biodegradation of crude oil, with a fungal consortium consisting of four isolates showing superior performance in degrading normal alkanes compared to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This consortium exhibited high efficiency in degrading crude oil under various environmental factors, making it a powerful tool for biodegradation.
Review
Plant Sciences
Christian Falter, Sigrun Reumann
Summary: This review summarizes recent research results on the novel peroxisomal functions of filamentous fungi and emphasizes the importance of peroxisomes in the infection of host plants. Peroxisomes play a central role in fungal virulence, producing important metabolic products and housing various enzymes.
MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Zhibing Luo, Qiyan Chen, Yufeng Su, Shasha Hu, Nemat O. Keyhani, Junyao Wang, Chenhua Zhu, Teng Zhou, Yunxia Pan, Michael J. Bidochka, Yongjun Zhang
Summary: The AreA GATA-type transcription factor plays a regulatory role in nitrogen catabolite repression, fungal development, and virulence in fungi. Knockdown of AreA gene expression in the entomopathogenic and plant endophyte Beauveria bassiana showed impairments in nitrogen utilization, increased sensitivities to osmotic stressors, but increased tolerances to oxidative/hypoxia stresses. The repression of AreA caused minimal effects on fungal virulence, mostly due to decreased host defense phenoloxidase activity, increased production of fungal metabolite oosporein, and impaired hyphal body development. Knockdown of AreA expression also resulted in impairment in the fungus's ability to associate with host plants.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Jing Ding, Min Lv, Dong Zhu, Eva F. Leifheit, Qing-Lin Chen, Yun-Qing Wang, Ling-Xin Chen, Matthias C. Rillig, Yong-Guan Zhu
Summary: Tire wear particles (TWP) have caused widespread contamination in the environment. This study aims to understand the behavior and potential impacts of TWP in soil ecosystems. By synthesizing existing knowledge and comparing with the effects of microplastics (MP), the study outlines the composition, distribution, and behavior of TWP in soils, and highlights the potential impacts on soil biota and the underlying mechanisms. The study suggests that more research is needed to clarify the behavior and impacts of TWP at different levels, from individual organisms to the Earth system, as TWP may pose as an emerging threat to soil health.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Hui Wu, Junjie Yang, Wei Fu, Matthias C. Rillig, Zhenjiao Cao, Aihua Zhao, Zhipeng Hao, Xin Zhang, Baodong Chen, Xingguo Han
Summary: Nitrogen enrichment has negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem stability, while arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play important roles in ecosystem stability and functioning. This study investigated the ecological impacts of N enrichment on AM fungal communities in a grassland ecosystem. The results showed that AM fungal biomass decreased continuously with increasing N addition levels, while AM fungal diversity remained stable until a threshold of 20 g N m(-2) yr(-1) was reached. Above this threshold, AM fungal diversity dramatically decreased, indicating a potentially unstable state of the AM fungal community.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Bo Tang, Katherine S. Rocci, Anika Lehmann, Matthias C. Rillig
Summary: Nitrogen availability is critical for soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling and storage, but the effects of N enrichment on the SOC pool are highly variable. This study conducted a global meta-analysis to assess the impact of N addition on SOC components and their ratios. The results showed that N addition significantly increased the particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) pools, while decreasing the ratios of MAOC to SOC and MAOC to POC. The study provides insights into the functionality of the SOC pool under N enrichment at a global scale.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Correction
Agronomy
Tancredi Caruso, Matthias C. C. Rillig
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Fan Ding, Shuangyi Li, Jie Lu, Chad J. Penn, Qing-Wei Wang, Guigang Lin, Jordi Sardans, Josep Penuelas, Jingkuan Wang, Matthias C. Rillig
Summary: Our study suggests that plastic film mulching and its residues in croplands do not pose a significant threat to food security, as the positive effects of the mulching practice outweigh any potential negative impacts. Although long-term use of plastic film mulching and urea nitrogen fertilization may have detrimental effects on crop growth, our experiment found no substantial differences in soil properties, maize growth, and yield between previously mulched and never-mulched plots.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Engineering, Environmental
Matthias C. Rillig, Marlene agerstrand, Mohan Bi, Kenneth A. Gould, Uli Sauerland
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yongxing Cui, Shushi Peng, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Matthias C. Rillig, Cesar Terrer, Biao Zhu, Xin Jing, Ji Chen, Jinquan Li, Jiao Feng, Yue He, Linchuan Fang, Daryl L. Moorhead, Robert L. Sinsabaugh, Josep Penuelas
Summary: This study provides the first global estimates of soil microbial carbon limitation, challenging the conventional hypothesis of ubiquitous C limitation. It also highlights the importance of plant litter as a dominant carbon source for microbial acquisition and the significant influence of latitudinal patterns on predicted carbon limitation.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Khuong V. Dinh, Dania Albini, James A. Orr, Samuel J. Macaulay, Matthias C. Rillig, Katrine Borga, Michelle C. Jackson
Summary: Winter is a key driver of ecological processes, but human-induced climate change and other stressors are impacting organisms in unpredictable ways. This paper calls for renewed focus on understanding the effects of multiple stressors in winter and incorporating these interactions into ecological risk assessments and conservation efforts.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Matthias C. Rillig, Shin Woong Kim, Yong-Guan Zhu
Summary: Understanding the effects of plastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems is crucial, especially considering its unique nature as both particles and chemical compounds. The plastisphere, which refers to the microbial community colonizing plastic debris, has been well-studied in aquatic ecosystems. This review article focuses on the differences in the plastisphere between aquatic and soil ecosystems, current knowledge about the soil plastisphere, and future research prospects.
NATURE REVIEWS MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Laurent Philippot, Claire Chenu, Andreas Kappler, Matthias C. Rillig, Noah Fierer
Summary: Considerable progress has been made in recent years in determining the soil properties that influence the structure of the soil microbiome. However, the effects of microorganisms on their soil habitat have received less attention. Microorganisms not only contribute to nutrient cycling and organic matter transformations, but also alter the soil habitat through various mechanisms. Understanding the interactions between microorganisms and soil properties can have significant ecological implications.
NATURE REVIEWS MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Songlin Wu, Wei Fu, Matthias C. Rillig, Baodong D. Chen, Yong-Guan Zhu, Longbin Huang
Summary: AM fungi play a crucial role in the formation and stabilization of soil organic matter (SOM). Previous studies have focused on the organic compounds produced by AM fungi as binding agents for aggregate formation and SOM storage. However, this overlooks the various biogeochemical processes mediated by AM fungal activities, which drive SOM dynamics. We propose an updated conceptual framework to enhance the understanding of AM fungal role in SOM dynamics.
Article
Plant Sciences
Eduardo Moreno Jimenez, Nuria Ferrol, Nicolas Corradi, Jesus M. Penalosa, Matthias C. Rillig
Summary: Studying the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on crop nutrition and their interactions with other soil microbes is crucial for optimizing agroecosystems and crops' uptake of micronutrients while reducing contamination from metal(loid)s.
Article
Plant Sciences
Matthias C. Rillig, Anika Lehmann, James A. Orr, Rebecca Rongstock
Summary: This article classifies and refines the targets of global change factors at different ecological hierarchy levels, and discusses how these effects propagate along the levels. It aims to inform future plant-focused global change experiments.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Anika Lehmann, Maximilian Flaig, Juan F. Duenas, Matthias C. Rillig
Summary: This article evaluates the evidence base of surfactant research on hydrological and physical soil variables, finding that the current knowledge is insufficient to draw strong conclusions about the effects of surfactants on soils. The authors call for further experiments on surfactant-mediated effects on soil properties and processes, with improved experimental design and data reporting standards.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Hanwen Chen, Xin Zhang, Haixi Wang, Shuping Xing, Rongbin Yin, Wei Fu, Matthias C. Rillig, Baodong Chen, Yongguan Zhu
Summary: This study demonstrates the significant role of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in reducing the transport of microplastics from roots to shoots in crops. However, AM symbiosis does not substantially decrease the uptake of microplastics by crops from soil. Nevertheless, mycorrhizal fungi can enhance the resistance of crops to microplastics by transforming their chemical properties, reducing complex formation with crop components, and promoting crop phosphorus nutrition.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Edith C. Hammer, Carlos Arellano-Caicedo, Paola Micaela Mafla-Endara, E. Toby Kiers, Tom Shimizu, Pelle Ohlsson, Kristin Aleklett
Summary: This study used microfluidic chips to investigate foraging strategies and habitat modification of Rhizophagus irregularis symbiotically associated with carrot roots. The researchers found that AMF hyphae can forage over long distances, prefer straight passages, and show branching induction when encountering obstacles. They also observed bi-directional transport of cellular content inside the hyphae and strategic allocation of biomass within the mycelium. Additionally, the AMF hyphae modified the pore-spaces in the chips by clogging them with irregularly shaped spores. These findings have important implications for understanding the impact of AMF on water retention in soils.