Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Do 3 meals a day keep fungi away?

Do 3 meals a day keep fungi away?

October 16, 2009

The fact that they eat a lot - and often - may explain why most people and other mammals are protected from the majority of fungal pathogens, according to research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

The research, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed that the elevated body temperature of mammals - the familiar 98.6o F or 37o C in people - is too high for the vast majority of potential fungal invaders to survive.




"Fungal strains undergo a major loss of ability to grow as we move to mammalian temperatures," said Arturo Casadevall, M.D., Ph.D., chair and professor of microbiology & immunology at Einstein. Dr. Casadevall conducted the study in conjunction with Vincent A. Robert of the Utrecht, Netherlands-based Fungal Biodiversity Center, also known as Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures.

"Our study makes the argument that our warm temperatures may have evolved to protect us against fungal diseases," said Dr. Casadevall. "And being warm-blooded and therefore largely resistant to fungal infections may help explain the dominance of mammals after the age of dinosaurs."

There are roughly 1.5 million fungal species. Of these, only a few hundred are pathogenic to mammals. Fungal infections in people are often the result of an impaired immune function. By contrast, an estimated 270,000 fungal species are pathogenic to plants and 50,000 species infect insects. Frogs and other amphibians are prone to fungal pathogens, one of which, chytridiomycosis, is currently raging through frogs worldwide. Fungi are also important in the decomposition of plants.

In their study, the researchers investigated how 4,082 different fungal strains from the Utrecht collection grew in temperatures ranging from chilly - 4o C or 39o F - to desert hot - 45o C or 113o F. They found that nearly all of them grew well in temperatures up to 30o C. Beyond that, though, the number of successful species declined by 6 percent for every one degree centigrade increase. Most could not grow at mammalian temperatures. Those that did well in hotter conditions were often from warm-blooded sources.

Dr. Casadevall noted that the current study covered thousands of fungal strains and made use of a computerized database of the Utrecht collection. In the past, this type of research would have required retrieving this information manually, which Dr. Casadevall noted would have been a very time-consuming task.

"This was possible only because we could use bioinformatic tools to analyze the records in the culture collection," he said. "There is no way to do a study like this without such technology given the enormous numbers of samples and the labor involved."

The results of the study, he added, could help explain why mammals maintain a seemingly energy-wasteful lifestyle requiring a great deal of food. By contrast, reptiles need only eat once a day or even less often.

"The payoff, however, may be that mammals are much more resistant to soil and plant-borne fungal pathogens than are reptiles and other cold-blooded vertebrates," said Dr. Casadevall.

This stronger immunity to fungi could explain why mammals rose to dominance after the dinosaur extinction event 65 million years ago. Indeed, the fungal bloom that occurred then may be one reason for the extinction of dinosaurs, a possibility outlined in a 2004 Fungal Genetics and Biology paper from Dr. Casadevall.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine



Related Fungal Pathogens Current Events and Fungal Pathogens News Articles Fungal Pathogens Current Events and Fungal Pathogens News RSS Fungal Pathogens Current Events and Fungal Pathogens News RSS
In the war between the sexes, the one with the closest fungal relationship wins
The war between the sexes has been fought on many fronts throughout time-from humans to birds to insects, the animal kingdom is replete with species involved in their own skirmishes.

DNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more
The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.

Pathogen protection and virulence: Dark side of fungal membrane protein revealed
Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and Montana State University have discovered a fungal protein that plays a key role in causing disease in plants and animals and which also shields the pathogen from oxidative stress.

Using insects to test for drug safety
Insects, such as some moths and fruit flies, react to microbial infection in the same way as mammals and so can be used to test the efficiency of new drugs, thereby reducing the need for animal testing.

Fungi the cause of many outbreaks of disease but mostly ignored
Fungi can cause a number of life-threatening diseases but they also are becoming increasingly useful to science and manufacturing every year.

UBC discovery unlocks tree genetics, gives new hope for pine beetle defense
UBC researchers have discovered some of the genetic secrets that enable pine and spruce trees to fight off pests and disease, uncovering critical new information about forests' natural defense systems.

New compound effectively treats fungal infections
A new mechanism to attack hard-to-treat fungal infections has been revealed by scientists from the biotech company Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., California, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] outstation in Grenoble, France.

Genome info from 'plant destroyers' could save trees, beans and chocolate
An international team of scientists has published the first two genome sequences from a destructive group of plant pathogens called Phytophthora-a name that literally means "plant destroyer."

UCR-led study identifies crucial mechanism involved in immune response against viruses
A research team led by UC Riverside scientists has shown that the common fruit fly can serve as an excellent model for studying the immunity animals are born with for fighting viral infections.

New method enables gene disruption in destructive fungal pathogen
Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech, Colorado State University, and Duke University Medical Center have developed a new method to determine gene function on a genome-wide scale in the fungal pathogen Alternaria brassicicola.
More Fungal Pathogens Current Events and Fungal Pathogens News Articles
Plant Fungal Pathogen Interaction

Plant Fungal Pathogen Interaction
by Hermann H. Prell (Author), Peter Day (Author)

Offers insight into the present state of knowledge and research of the interactions of plants and phytopathogenic fungi, with special emphasis on recognition phenomena between plants and fungi, parasitization strategies used by the fungi, the action of phytotoxines, and other detailed aspects of the subject.

  Grapefruit Seed 4:1 - 1/4LB Bulk
by Universal Naturals

Grapefruit Seed is said to have remarkable therapeutic effects against hundreds of assorted bactera.

  Fungal Pathogens And Diseases of Cereals



Biology Of Fungal Pathogens: Fungal Pathogens and Dieases in Cereals

Biology Of Fungal Pathogens: Fungal Pathogens and Dieases in Cereals
by Joseph-alexander Verreet (Editor), Holger Klink (Editor)

The video series The Biology of Fungal Pathogens combines three-dimensional computer animation with photography to present the life cycles of various fungal pathogens. Covering Septoria Blotch of Wheat, Tan Spot of Wheat, Net Blotch of Barley, and Powdery Mildew, this use of modern visualization technology provides life-like images that leave the viewer with a lasting impression of biological and ecological aspects of host-pathogen interactions.

Evolutionary Biology of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens

Evolutionary Biology of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens
by Fernando Baquero (Editor), Cesar Nombela (Editor), Gail H. Cassell (Editor), Jose A. Gutierrez-fuentes (Editor)

This volume was inspired by the 2004 Fundacion Lilly conference that focused on the series of successive events characterizing the emergence, development, spread, variation, or disappearance of the interactions between microbes and humans resulting in a reduced fitness for the human host.

Human Fungal Pathogens (The Mycota)

Human Fungal Pathogens (The Mycota)
by George S. Kobayashi (Editor), Judith E. Domer (Editor)

Provided here are both reviews and recent results of studies with medically important fungi. Throughout the volume, outstanding mycologists treat the ecological role of pathogenic fungi, how they cause disease, their interactions with the immune system, and their responses to antifungal agents. Most of the presented results are based on molecular biological approaches: areas where classical and descriptive methods are applied are also included.

Biocontrol of Tomato Foot and Root Rot by Pseudomonas in Stonewool: Competition for Nutrients and Niches as a Self-contained Mechanism of Biological Control of Fungal Pathogens by Pseudomonas Bacteria

Biocontrol of Tomato Foot and Root Rot by Pseudomonas in Stonewool: Competition for Nutrients and Niches as a Self-contained Mechanism of Biological Control of Fungal Pathogens by Pseudomonas Bacteria
by Shamil Validov (Author)

Plant diseases have become a permanent threat since human societies started to rely on agriculture as on a major food provider. Back in history, outbreaks of plant diseases resulted in many human catastrophes. Even nowadays the crop loss due to phytopathogens is estimated as 15-20 % reduction of the yield worldwide. Chemical pesticides, used for crop protection, cause damage to the environment and a hazard to human health. The use of wild type microbes as a pesticides has become the promising alternative for replacing chemicals or, at least, reducing their use. This work describes isolation, characterization and industrial testing of a biocontrol agent which protects tomato against foot and root rot caused by a phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum. The mechanism which...

  Grapefruit Seed 4:1 - 600 Cap Bottle
by Universal Naturals

Grapefruit Seed is said to have remarkable therapeutic effects against hundreds of assorted bactera.

The Biology of Fungal Pathogensvol. 4: Fungal Pathogens and Diseases of Cereals DVD

The Biology of Fungal Pathogensvol. 4: Fungal Pathogens and Diseases of Cereals DVD
by Dr. Joseph-Alexander Verreet (Author), Dr. Holger Klink (Author)

Videos on this DVD: 4.1 Eyespot Disease of Small Grains (13:00 min) Where small grains are grown continuously and the climate is cool and moist, eyespot disease, also called strawbreaker foot rot, is a significant yield-limiting disease. This infection of the stem base is caused by fungi of the genus Helgardia (formerly Pseudocercosporella): Helgardia herpotrichoides (teleomorph Oculimacula yallundae) and Helgardia acuformis (teleomorph Oculimacula acuformis). Both species differ in terms of morphology and growth characteristics. This movie depicts the life cycles of both species using three-dimensional computer animations blended with real images. Particularly, the modes of infection as well as epidemiological spread of the disease are shown. Finally, methods for successful disease...

  Molecular Variability of Fungal Pathogens
by P. D. Bridge (Editor), Y. Couteaudier (Editor), J. M. Clarkson (Editor)

Collecting current research on molecular variability, this volume provides an overview of the major mechanisms, followed by chapters on variability in specific fungal pathogens. It concludes with a discussion of methods for interpreting variability.

© 2009 BrightSurf.com