Fungal Priming: Prepare or Perish
This research examines how fungi can ‘remember’ and adapt to stressful conditions they’ve previously encountered, similar to how vaccines work to prepare immune systems. This ability to learn from past stress helps fungi survive better in challenging environments. Impact on everyday life: – Helps explain why some fungi become resistant to antifungal medications – Provides insights into how crop-damaging fungi adapt to agricultural fungicides – Suggests new approaches for controlling harmful fungi in agriculture and medicine – Explains how fungi are adapting to climate change – Influences food preservation and storage methods