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Diversity and Ecology of Fungi from Underexplored and Extreme Environments

Summary

This editorial introduces a special issue on fungi that survive in harsh environments like deserts, salty water, polar regions, and polluted sites. Scientists are discovering that these remarkable fungi can help clean up contaminated soil, support plant growth under stress, and may have pharmaceutical uses. The research brings together classical mycology with modern genetic techniques to unlock the untapped potential of these extreme-environment fungi.

Background

Fungi represent one of the most diverse and ecologically important groups of organisms on Earth, yet much of their biodiversity remains unknown and unexplored. Fungi thrive in some of the most challenging environments on the planet, from naturally extreme conditions such as arid, saline, cold, or nutrient-deprived environments to anthropogenically altered habitats. Extremotolerant and extremophilic fungi represent an emerging research field in mycology with relevance to both applied sciences and novel taxonomic and functional diversity.

Objective

This editorial introduces a special issue presenting nine research articles and one review contributing to the growing field of extremotolerant and extremophilic fungi. The purpose is to summarize compiled contributions and provide broader interpretive context referencing past research and anticipating future research directions.

Results

The compiled studies reveal diverse fungal communities in anthropogenically altered environments, natural extreme niches including hypersaline and arid ecosystems, rock-inhabiting communities, and polar aquatic ecosystems. New fungal taxa are described, and symbiotic interactions between fungi and plants/insects are documented.

Conclusion

Research on extremophilic and extremotolerant fungi is poised to advance through environmental sequencing, single-cell genomics, and metabolomics. Future research should integrate ecology, phylogenetics, and materials science while maintaining grounding in ecological knowledge and taxonomic accuracy for biotechnological applications.
  • Published in:Journal of Fungi (Basel),
  • Study Type:Editorial Review,
  • Source: PMID: 40422677, DOI: 10.3390/jof11050343
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