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Pathogenic Fungi: Morphogenesis, Pathogenicity and Biosynthesis of Secondary Metabolites—Second Edition
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Pathogenic Fungi: Morphogenesis, Pathogenicity and Biosynthesis of Secondary Metabolites—Second Edition

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungal Cell Biology, Metabolism and Physiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 3346

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Zhenhong Zhuang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of Education Ministry, Proteomic Research Center, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Interests: morphogenesis; mycotoxin; biological activity; biological function; pathogenicity; metabolic regulation; contamination
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There are an estimated 1.5 million species of fungi, among which pathogenic fungi can cause diseases to humans, plants, animals and even other fungi. Morphological changes are required for pathogenic fungi to cause disease. Physiological and environmental stimuli regulate morphogenic differentiation through conserved signaling pathways. In addition to cell size and shape, morphogenesis is linked to changes in cell surface composition, which are required by diverse microbes to be successful as pathogens. Pathogenic fungi utilize various pathogenic effectors to infect their hosts. The effectors are important virulence determinants of pathogenic fungi and play important roles in successful pathogenesis, predominantly by avoiding the host surveillance system. However, besides being important for pathogenesis, fungal effectors might be recognized by resistant cultivars of the host which produce a strong immune response to ward off pathogens. Pathogenic fungi, such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium and Alternaria toxigenic species, are found to produce a wide variety of toxic secondary metabolites which seriously threaten human health and green agricultural practice.

In recent years, the development of molecular biology tools has led to the development of faster, more reliable detection techniques, providing valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying the adaptation and speciation of pathogenic fungi. The aim of this Special Issue is to characterize the morphogenesis, pathogenicity and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites of pathogenic fungi through comprehensive reviews, original studies and novel perspectives.

Prof. Dr. Zhenhong Zhuang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pathogenic fungi
  • morphogenesis
  • pathogenicity
  • secondary metabolites

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3792 KB  
Article
Biological and Genomic Insights into Fusarium acuminatum Causing Needle Blight in Pinus tabuliformis
by Linin Song, Yuying Xu, Tianjin Liu, He Wang, Xinyue Wang, Changxiao Fu, Xiaoling Xie, Yakubu Saddeeq Abubakar, Abah Felix, Ruixian Yang, Xinhong Jing, Guodong Lu, Jiandong Bao and Wenyu Ye
J. Fungi 2025, 11(9), 636; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11090636 - 29 Aug 2025
Viewed by 472
Abstract
Chinese pine, Pinus tabuliformis, is one of the most important garden plants in northern China, and the planting of this species is of great significance for the improvement of the ecological environment. In this study, different fungi were isolated and purified from [...] Read more.
Chinese pine, Pinus tabuliformis, is one of the most important garden plants in northern China, and the planting of this species is of great significance for the improvement of the ecological environment. In this study, different fungi were isolated and purified from diseased Pinus tabuliformis samples collected in Xi’an city, Shaanxi Province. Of these fungal isolates, only one (isolate AP-3) was pathogenic to the healthy host plant. The pathogenic isolate was identified as Fusarium acuminatum by morphological characteristics and ITS and TEF-1α sequence analyses. The optimal growth conditions for this isolate were further analyzed as follows: Optimal temperature of 25 °C, pH of 11, soluble starch and sodium nitrate as the most preferred carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. By combining Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) long-read sequencing with Illumina short-read sequencing technologies, we obtained a 41.50 Mb genome assembly for AP-3, with 47.97% GC content and 3.04% repeats. This consisted of 14 contigs with an N50 of 4.64 Mb and a maximum length of 6.45 Mb. The BUSCO completeness of the genome assembly was 98.94% at the fungal level and 97.83% at the Ascomycota level. The genome assembly contained 13,408 protein-coding genes, including 421 carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZys), 120 cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs), 3185 pathogen-host interaction (PHI) genes, and 694 candidate secreted proteins. To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. acuminatum causing needle blight of P. tabuliformis. This study not only uncovered the pathogen responsible for needle blight of P. tabuliformis, but also provided a systematic analysis of its biological characteristics. These findings provide an important theoretical basis for disease control in P. tabuliformis and pave the way for further research into the fungal pathogenicity mechanisms and management strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathogenic Fungi: Morphogenesis, Pathogenicity and Biosynthesis of Secondary Metabolites—Second Edition)
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19 pages, 35322 KB  
Article
Molecular Mechanism of Aflatoxin B1 Synthesis Related AfVerB Regulating the Development, AFB1 Biosyntheis and Virulence of Aspergillus flavus Mainly Through Its CYP Domain
by Kangfu Ye, Song Zhou, Dandan Wu, Dongmei Ma, Yanfang Yao, Chi Yang, Minghui Sun, Sile Yang, Wangzhuo Fu, Wenwen Xin, Jun Yuan, Zhenhong Zhuang and Yanling Yang
J. Fungi 2025, 11(4), 293; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11040293 - 9 Apr 2025
Viewed by 915
Abstract
Aspergillus flavus and its secondary metabolites aflatoxins pose a significant threat to the health of humans, animals, and plants. Therefore, there is an urgent need to control A. flavus contamination. AfverB plays a key role in the aflatoxin gene cluster; however, its function [...] Read more.
Aspergillus flavus and its secondary metabolites aflatoxins pose a significant threat to the health of humans, animals, and plants. Therefore, there is an urgent need to control A. flavus contamination. AfverB plays a key role in the aflatoxin gene cluster; however, its function and mechanism in fungal development and virulence remain poorly understood. In this study, we constructed afVerB gene deletion mutants (∆afVerB−1 and ∆afVerB−2) and two CYP domain mutants (afVerB∆D1 and afVerB∆D2) through homologous recombination. Phenotype analysis revealed that, via its two CYP domains, AfVerB is deeply involved in fungal morphogenesis and aflatoxin synthesis. Insect and crop colonization models revealed that AfVerB plays a key role in the fungus’s ability to infect hosts, and stress experiments discovered that AfVerB plays a significant role in the response to various environmental stresses, which explains why AfVerB is a key factor in fungal infection to some extent. RT-qPCR analysis demonstrated that AfVerB performs its bio-function through corresponding regulatory factors. We ultimately discovered that AfVerB is deeply involved in cell membrane stress stability, thereby participating in the regulation of fungal drug resistance (sensitive to AMB and resistant to VOR in this study). The CYP domain of AfVerB, particularly its second CYP domain, is crucial for the execution of its biological functions. This study elucidated the regulatory mechanisms by which AfVerB regulates fungal pathogenicity and aflatoxin biosynthesis, providing potential strategies for controlling A. flavus and its aflatoxin contamination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathogenic Fungi: Morphogenesis, Pathogenicity and Biosynthesis of Secondary Metabolites—Second Edition)
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24 pages, 3919 KB  
Article
A Chromosome-Scale Genome of Trametes versicolor and Transcriptome-Based Screening for Light-Induced Genes That Promote Triterpene Biosynthesis
by Yang Yang and Xuebo Hu
J. Fungi 2025, 11(1), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11010081 - 20 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1546
Abstract
Trametes versicolor is an important fungus with medicinal properties and a significant role in lignocellulose degradation. In this study, we constructed a high-quality chromosome-level genome of T. versicolor using Illumina, PacBio HiFi, and Hi-C sequencing technologies. The assembled genome is 47.42 Mb in [...] Read more.
Trametes versicolor is an important fungus with medicinal properties and a significant role in lignocellulose degradation. In this study, we constructed a high-quality chromosome-level genome of T. versicolor using Illumina, PacBio HiFi, and Hi-C sequencing technologies. The assembled genome is 47.42 Mb in size and contains 13,307 protein-coding genes. BUSCO analysis revealed genome and gene completeness results of 95.80% and 95.90%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that T. versicolor is most closely related to T. pubescens, followed by T. cinnabarina and T. coccinea. Comparative genomic analysis identified 266 syntenic blocks between T. versicolor and Wolfiporia cocos, indicating a conserved evolutionary pattern between the two species. Gene family analysis highlighted the expansion and contraction of genes in functional categories related to the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, including several T. versicolor-specific genes. Key genes involved in lignocellulose degradation and triterpene production were identified within the CAZyme and CYP450 gene families. Transcriptomic analysis under dark and light conditions revealed significant changes in the expression of genes related to secondary metabolism, suggesting that light signals regulate metabolic pathways. A total of 2577 transporter proteins and 2582 membrane proteins were identified and mapped in the T. versicolor genome, and 33 secondary metabolite gene clusters were identified, including two light-sensitive triterpene biosynthesis clusters. This study offers a comprehensive genomic resource for further investigation into the functional genomics, metabolic regulation, and triterpene biosynthesis of T. versicolor, providing valuable insights into fungal evolution and biotechnological applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathogenic Fungi: Morphogenesis, Pathogenicity and Biosynthesis of Secondary Metabolites—Second Edition)
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