The Rise of Fungi: A Report on the CIFAR Program Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities Inaugural Meeting

Abstract

The first meeting of the CIFAR Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities research program saw the congregation of experts on fungal biology to address the most pressing threats fungi pose to global health, agriculture, and biodiversity. This report covers the research discussed during the meeting and the advancements made toward mitigating the devastating impact of fungi on plants, animals, and humans.

The Botrytis cinerea Gene Expression Browser

“…This latter collection holds information on 22 animal models, over 9 plant species other than Arabidopsis , and only 3 fungal species ( Aspergillus fumigatus , Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae ), with 95.7% of fungal RNA-Seq experiments concentrated on the baker’s yeast. Therefore, tools and curated gene expression databases for additional fungal species would provide an opportunity to better understand the biology of this relevant but often neglected group of organisms [ 20 ].…”

“…This strategy can provide meaningful insights regarding, for instance, genes involved in plant infection. While fungi represent an exceptional biotechnological chassis, their extraordinary capacity for adaptation to diverse environmental niches also presents a risk for animal health and agricultural production [ 20 , 22 ]. Despite the availability of a relatively small but significant number of transcriptomics experiments for most relevant fungal phytopathogens ( Table 1 ), a simple and easy-to-use tool to evaluate gene expression patterns is lacking.…”

The future of fungi: threats and opportunities

“…Inspired by colloquia held by the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) in 2007 ( Buckley 2007 ) and 2017 ( American Academy of Microbiology 2019 ) and a long-standing partnership between the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the mycology community, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) held a workshop in November 2021 to help chart the future challenges and opportunities presented by the fungal kingdom. Attended by members of the CIFAR Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities research program ( Case et al 2020 ), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and by leading experts on fungal biology from academia and industry, participants convened to strategize on and address questions pertaining to (1) Connections between fungi and climate change and ways to avert climate catastrophe; (2) Fungal threats to humans and ways to mitigate them; (3) Fungal threats to agriculture and food security and approaches to ensure a robust global food supply; (4) Fungal threats to animals and approaches to avoid species collapse and extinction; and (5) Opportunities presented by the fungal kingdom including novel medicines and enzymes. In addition, building on the previous AAM colloquia, participants revisited the recommendations outlined in 2007 ( Buckley 2007 ) and 2017 ( American Academy of Microbiology 2019 ) reports to provide updated suggestions for accelerating fungal research.…”

The Botrytis cinerea Gene Expression Browser

“…Therefore, there is a lack of implementation of this kind of tool and curated gene expression information in fungal species. Undoubtedly, this represents an opportunity to better understand the biology of this relevant but often neglected group of organisms (Case et al, 2020).…”

“…This strategy can provide meaningful insights regarding, for instance, the infection strategies employed by this pathogen. While fungi represent an exceptional biotechnological chassis, their extraordinary adaptation capacity to diverse environmental niches also means several risks for animal health and agricultural production (Case et al, 2020; Fisher et al, 2020). In fact, ten fungal phytopathogens have long been considered highly relevant agricultural threats.…”