Fungal Development and Interactions Under Hostile Environments

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Ecological Interactions of Fungi".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 3928

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology, Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), Ensenada, Mexico
Interests: fungal–plant interactions; phytopathology; molecular plant pathology; fungal genetics; cellular and molecular biology of fungi; genomics; fungal response to stress; bioremediation; fungal resistance to fungicides; pathogenic fungi of animals

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Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology, Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), Ensenada 22860, Baja California, Mexico
Interests: fungal cell biology; nanobiotechnology; fungal molecular biology; mycotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Facultad de Estudios Profesionales Zona Huasteca, Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi (UASLP), Valleys City 79060, Mexico
Interests: natural sciences; plant tissue culture; biotechnology; bioremediation; plant development; plant biochemistry; chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi are heterotrophic and ubiquitous organisms that live in all environments worldwide, even those in hostile environments caused by high natural or anthropogenic contamination. Like other living organisms, fungi must develop cellular and molecular strategies for facing extreme environments like contamination by heavy metals and agrochemicals, or those hostile environments performed by plant and animal hosts during the colonization by beneficial or pathogenic fungi. Interestingly, fungi are classified as mesophilic, generalists, and specialists accordingly if they can survive in niches with moderate or standard conditions, moderate and hostile environments, or require exclusively hostile environments for growth. The main goal of this Special Issue is to expand our knowledge and understanding of how fungi respond and adapt to hostile environments that present challenges in the form of nutrient shortages, toxic contaminants, or extreme environmental conditions. This Special Issue welcomes the submission of multidisciplinary original research articles and in-depth reviews looking to provide comprehensive insights into, but not limited to, fundamental and applied studies on how fungi respond to contaminated environments, including the response of fungi to those environments created during animal and plant hosts’ colonization. Original research, short communications, and reviews discussing recent progress and advances in the field by using different research disciplines such as cellular biology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, metabolomics, genomics, biochemistry, genetics, physiology, diversity, and phylogeny are welcome to be submitted.

Dr. Domingo Martínez-Soto
Dr. Ernestina Castro-Longoria
Prof. Dr. Candy Carranza-Alvarez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • fungal development under hostile environments
  • fungal–plant interactions under hostile environments
  • fungal response to contaminated conditions
  • fungal–plant interaction for bioremediation
  • bioremediation by fungal consortia
  • mycoremediation
  • bioremediation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3754 KB  
Article
Endobacteria Have a Negative Effect on the Virulence of Metarhizium
by Aida Gabriela Mora-Acebedo, Isay Ruíz Aguilar, Azul Martínez-Vázquez, Iván Horacio Piña-Torres, Arelí Durón Castellanos, Zulia Fernandina Nieves-López, Jorge Contreras-Garduño, Gloria Angélica González-Hernández, Israel Enrique Padilla-Guerrero and Juan Carlos Torres-Guzmán
J. Fungi 2025, 11(11), 813; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11110813 - 16 Nov 2025
Viewed by 525
Abstract
Most organisms are associated with microorganisms, which influence their behavior during their life cycles. Fungi are no exception; they interact with plants, viruses, and bacteria in various environments, forming complex communities. These associations can occur externally around the mycelia and internally within the [...] Read more.
Most organisms are associated with microorganisms, which influence their behavior during their life cycles. Fungi are no exception; they interact with plants, viruses, and bacteria in various environments, forming complex communities. These associations can occur externally around the mycelia and internally within the hyphae. Fungi can harbor bacteria, mycoviruses, and other fungi within their hyphae. Some endobacteria (EB) have been shown to alter fungal host function, development, and interactions with other organisms. Most fungi that host endobacteria (EB) are plant-associated. Although members of the genus Metarhizium are among the most abundant fungi isolated from soils, their associated EB have not been sufficiently studied. Endobacteria were recently detected in M. bibiondarum and M. anisopliae; however, the biological roles of these bacteria in the different Metarhizium life cycles remain unknown. In this study, Metarhizium strains were isolated from the rhizosphere and Phyllophaga spp. Bacillus subtilis was identified as an endobacterium, and its influence on the physiology of Metarhizium and entomopathogenic capacity was studied. Our analysis revealed that EB have a negative impact on the virulence of Metarhizium against Galleria mellonella and Tenebrio molitor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Development and Interactions Under Hostile Environments)
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17 pages, 8447 KB  
Article
Evaluation of Fungal Sensitivity to Biosynthesized Copper-Oxide Nanoparticles (CuONPs) in Grapevine Tissues and Fruits
by Domingo Martínez-Soto, Erisneida Campos-Jiménez, Alejandro Cabello-Pasini, Luis Enrique Garcia-Marin, Anaid Meza-Villezcas and Ernestina Castro-Longoria
J. Fungi 2025, 11(10), 719; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11100719 - 6 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3094
Abstract
Grape production is one of the most agronomically important activities worldwide. However, it is threatened by diseases caused by phytopathogenic microorganisms, which cause severe economic losses. The primary strategy to control phytopathogenic fungi is the application of fungicides; however, they affect the environment [...] Read more.
Grape production is one of the most agronomically important activities worldwide. However, it is threatened by diseases caused by phytopathogenic microorganisms, which cause severe economic losses. The primary strategy to control phytopathogenic fungi is the application of fungicides; however, they affect the environment and induce resistance in fungi. Nanomaterials, especially those green-synthesized, emerge as an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to control fungal pathogens. The objective of this work is to evaluate the sensitivity of fungal phytopathogens to biosynthesized copper-oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs). Nanoparticles were evaluated as preventive and corrective treatments in grapevine green tissues and fruits under field conditions, using in vitro and in vivo experimental approaches. Interestingly, corrective treatment was highly effective and showed little accumulation of Cu on the fruits, even less than a commercial copper-based fungicide. Moreover, we report that Aspergillus niger causes lesions in photosynthetic tissues and severe disease symptoms in grapes. We also describe for the first time the presence of Alternaria alternata causing lesions, mainly on the stems and young leaves of grapevine plants in Mexico. These pathogens were inhibited by the biosynthesized CuONPs. All these findings show the effectiveness of using CuONPs to control phytopathogenic fungi, even under field conditions, shedding light on their potential use in agriculture with a less environmental impact than the commercial fungicides and agrochemicals currently used. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Development and Interactions Under Hostile Environments)
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