Research Keyword: hyphal growth

Understanding and controlling filamentous growth of fungal cell factories: novel tools and opportunities for targeted morphology engineering

Fungi are used in industry to produce medicines, chemicals, and enzymes in large fermentation tanks. However, the way these fungal cells grow and clump together greatly affects how much product they make, but scientists don’t yet fully understand or control this growth. This review discusses new tools like genetic engineering, computer modelling, and special imaging techniques that are helping researchers better understand and control fungal growth patterns to improve industrial production.

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Fungal evolution: diversity, taxonomy and phylogeny of the Fungi

Fungi are found everywhere on Earth and play critical roles in breaking down organic matter, supporting plant growth, and providing food and medicines. Scientists have recently reorganized how fungi are classified into nine major groups using genetic analysis, which has helped clarify evolutionary relationships that were previously unclear. This comprehensive review explains what distinguishes each fungal group, how they are related to each other evolutionarily, and why fungi deserve more attention in biology education given their importance to human life and global ecosystems.

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Cell wall remodeling in a fungal pathogen is required for hyphal growth into microspaces

Researchers discovered how fungi squeeze through tiny spaces inside plant tissues to cause disease. They found that fungi need to soften and remodel their cell walls to reduce their width and fit through spaces that are much narrower than normal fungal filaments. This ability to change shape is critical for the fungus to invade and colonize plants, ultimately causing wilting diseases in crops like tomatoes.

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HIV protease inhibitors restore amphotericin B activity against Candida

Researchers discovered that HIV protease inhibitors, medications commonly used to treat HIV, can significantly enhance the effectiveness of amphotericin B, a powerful antifungal drug. When combined, these medications work synergistically to kill the dangerous fungus Candida auris, reduce its ability to form protective biofilms, and lower infection levels. This finding suggests a promising new treatment strategy for multidrug-resistant fungal infections that currently pose a serious global health threat.

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Hierarchical Structure of the Program Used by Filamentous Fungi to Navigate in Confining Microenvironments

Fungi navigating through tight spaces like soil use sophisticated biological programs similar to computer algorithms. Researchers studied how three fungal species move through confined microfluidic channels, discovering they use a three-level system: individual threads sense passages and remember direction, groups of threads avoid each other and share resources, and entire fungal networks solve problems through local independent decisions. This hierarchical approach efficiently explores space while balancing energy use.

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