When a maize plant is attacked by the fungus Ustilago maydis, tumor-like tissue growths occur at the site of infection. How the pathogen causes this response in its host has long been unknown. But a ...

Symbiotic and pathogenic fungi that interact with plants are distantly related and don't share many genetic similarities. Comparing plant pathogenic fungi and plant symbiotic fungi, scientists at the ...

Monosson is the author of Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Amherst There are many reasons to fear a new fungal pathogen—from ...

Scientists have discovered that beneficial root-dwelling fungi boost plant resilience to disease by remodeling the plant cell membrane at pathogen infection sites—offering critical new insights into ...

While water lilies are perhaps most famous for starring in French impressionist artist Claude Monet’s work, they may also have a molecular secret weapon that could help in our ongoing fight against ...

Bats play a vital role in our ecosystem. They pollinate plants, disperse seeds, and protect crops from pests. But more than 90% of three North American bat species no longer perform these functions, ...

Hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities are struggling to gain ground on a drug-resistant and deadly fungus ...

Scientists have discovered that the most widely-used class of antifungals in the world cause pathogens to self-destruct. The research could help improve ways to protect food security and human lives.

Higher environmental temperatures may trigger mutations in fungi that lead to increased infectivity, more aggressive growth or resistance to multiple anti-fungal medications. Microbiologist examining ...

Back at the turn of the 21st century, valley fever was an obscure fungal disease in the United States, with fewer than 3,000 reported cases a year, mostly in California and Arizona. Two decades later, ...