While multidrug-resistant Candida auris poses a global threat to public health, the impact and mechanism of drug resistance on fungal virulence remain unclear. This study reveals that fluconazole-resistant C. auris exhibits enhanced fitness and resistance to macrophage killing under zinc deficiency by mobilizing intracellular zinc. The inhibition of gene encoding Zn(II)2Cys6 transcription factor 4 (ZCF4) contributes to C. auris resistance to macrophage killing by suppressing the PI3K-AKT- mTOR pathway and downstream matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity. Dietary zinc deficiency promotes the virulence of fluconazole-resistant C. auris. This research provides a mechanistic understanding of host-fungal interactions and highlights zinc intervention as a potential nutrient intervention strategy against fungal infection.

Talaromyces marneffei is a lethal human pathogenic fungus endemic to Southeast Asia. While the previously reported mycovirus Talaromyces marneffei partitivirus 1 (TmPV1)​ is known to enhance fungal virulence, a study published in Mycology reveals a second mycovirus, Talaromyces marneffei narnavirus 1 (TmNV1), that functions as a key virulence attenuator in T. marneffei. Notably, TmPV1 was found to synergistically amplify most of the hypovirulent effects induced by TmNV1.

The critical role of pathogen effector proteins in mediating microbial infection and pathogenesis has been extensively and thoroughly studied. However, research on effector proteins from endophytic microorganisms has progressed more slowly, and their biological functions and mechanisms of action remain largely unclear. The research group previously isolated an endophytic strain of Fusarium lateritium from the medicinal plant Nothapodytes pittosporoides. This strain exhibits significant growth-promoting and disease-resistant effects on certain solanaceous crops. This study mined fungal-secreted effector proteins using plant apoplast proteomics and transcriptomics, and revealed at the molecular level a novel mechanism by which the pectinase-type effector CREP1 activates plant immunity. These findings provide a new theoretical basis for further elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the growth-promoting and disease-resistant activities of endophytic fungi, and lay a foundation for the development of endophytic fungi as "plant vaccines."

In a paper published in Mycology, a team of scientists demonstrated that agricultural azole fungicides can induce broad-spectrum cross-resistance to first-line clinical azole antifungal drugs in Candida tropicalis, and elucidated that the core mechanism underlying this resistance is azole stress-driven formation of chromosomal aneuploidy coupled with the marked upregulation of associated azole resistance genes.

The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) calls for effective solutions such as phage therapy. In China, phage therapy has been implemented in over 30 hospitals, treating more than 500 patients with multidrug-resistant infections. Phage therapy can currently be developed through two pathways: as a novel biomedical technology or as a new drug. However, regulatory ambiguity persists due to a lack of standardized quality criteria and clear approval frameworks. This article proposes a "standards first, pathway pilots, and industry cultivation" strategy. Key recommendations include developing national quality control guidelines for therapeutic phage preparations and clarifying the detailed guidelines for approval policies for new biomedical technologies, biologics, and advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). These efforts aim to enable safe and effective clinical translation, positioning China as a frontrunner in phage therapy and making significant contributions to the global response against AMR.