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Molecular Insights into Antifungal Resistance and Virulence

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 783

Special Issue Editor


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Departamento de Genética y Microbiología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: RNA silencing mechanism in fungus; Mucorales; antifungal resistance and virulence; fungal genetics and genomics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungal infections endanger human health, especially that of immunocompromised people. The rise in antifungal resistance worsens this problem, limiting treatment options and potentially leading to severe consequences. This Special Issue explores the molecular basis of both antifungal resistance and fungal virulence.

By examining genetic mutations, enzymatic pathways, and cellular adaptations that contribute to resistance, this Special Issue aims to pave the way for the creation of new antifungal therapies. It also explores the molecular mechanisms of fungal virulence. The included articles will study how fungi manipulate their host environment, evade immune defenses, and exploit cellular processes to establish infections. Understanding these intricate processes is crucial for developing effective antifungal strategies and diagnostics.

This Special Issue will be a valuable resource for scientists, clinicians, and students seeking to understand the interplay between fungi and their hosts. By unraveling the molecular secrets of these resilient adversaries, we hope to more effectively combat fungal infections and improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Francisco E. Nicolás
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • fungal infections
  • antifungal therapies
  • antifungal resistance
  • fungal virulence

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 2834 KiB  
Article
Direct Targeted Degradation of Transposon RNAs by the Non-Canonical RNAi Pathway of the Fungus Mucor lusitanicus
by Ghizlane Tahiri, Carlos Lax, Francisco E. Nicolás, Victoriano Garre and Eusebio Navarro
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(6), 2738; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26062738 - 18 Mar 2025
Viewed by 356
Abstract
Mucor lusitanicus has emerged as a model organism for studying RNAi in early-diverging fungi. This fungus exhibits intricate RNAi pathways that play crucial roles in regulating gene expression, destroying invasive exogenous genetic material, and controlling the movement of transposable elements (TEs) to ensure [...] Read more.
Mucor lusitanicus has emerged as a model organism for studying RNAi in early-diverging fungi. This fungus exhibits intricate RNAi pathways that play crucial roles in regulating gene expression, destroying invasive exogenous genetic material, and controlling the movement of transposable elements (TEs) to ensure genome stability. One of the most fascinating RNAi pathways of this fungus is the non-canonical RNAi pathway (NCRIP), which is independent of Dicer and Argonaute proteins and uses the atypical RNase III R3B2 to degrade specific target messenger RNAs (mRNAs), playing an essential role in genome stability and virulence. Despite accumulating data suggesting that this pathway is a degradation mechanism, there has been no conclusive evidence. Here, we conducted a comparative transcriptomic analysis of mRNA and small RNAs regulated by r3b2, identifying 35 direct NCRIP targets. Most of these direct NCRIP targets correspond to TEs, highlighting the significant role of this RNAi pathway in TE control. Detailed functional analysis of the NCRIP targets confirmed the crucial role of r3b2 in regulating gene expression of protein-coding genes and controlling TEs other than centromeric GremLINE1 transposons, emphasizing the important role of r3b2 in genome stability. Interestingly, the RNAs of the NCRIP targets harbor a unique motif consisting of CAG repeats which are known to form hairpin structures which are targeted by RNA interference. Additionally, the generation of transformants expressing mRNAs containing the luciferase reporter gene along direct NCRIP targets reveals that this RNAi pathway is a true degradation mechanism for specific mRNAs. These results are expected to contribute to the understanding of the regulation of the NCRIP pathway through the analysis of its direct targets identified here. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Insights into Antifungal Resistance and Virulence)
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