All these applications have come from studying only about 3 per cent of the estimated 5 million species that make up this kingdom. This estimate comes from the range of structures and genes that have been discovered in partial samples in the wild that are not associated with a known species. There is, in other words, significant fungal “dark matter” that remains to be discovered and catalogued. Completing such a fungal taxonomy has historically been a low priority, but recent evidence suggesting that our interactions with them have changed them in dangerous ways has moved the taxonomy up the global agenda.

These changing interactions have arisen because pressures from climate change, agricultural overuse of medical antifungals and global trade have forced fungi into new niches. Emerging and existing fungal diseases threaten ecological biodiversity, including frogs, salamanders and bats. The danger they pose to crops also threatens global food security.²

The long-feared threat of a global fungal pandemic is growing larger with the emergence of drug-resistant strains like Candida auris. The emergence of more drug-resistant species is inevitable, and mounting a response will require major investments in research and infrastructure. Our knowledge of fungi has been gained from studying just the handful of model organisms that can be cultured in a laboratory environment. Investigation of the unknown, unculturable types remains important but has been held back by a lack of reliable and advanced techniques. Developments to deal with this have been slow to ramp up because most of our scientific apparatus has been geared to bacterial and viral threats.

However, change is under way. Genomic surveys are filling out the fungal family tree, and advanced imaging technologies and new experimental models are helping to illuminate the mechanisms of how fungi invade, which provides new targets for mitigation. Mitigation strategies include vaccines, new classes of small-molecule drugs and the redeployment of existing gene-editing platforms. It might even be possible to engineer the fungal microbiome or virome to reduce the threat they pose.

Future success will depend on computational advances, including AI and machine learning, and major interdisciplinary cooperation. The fields of metabolomics and structural biology, supported by hi-tech repositories of fungal samples and isolates, will underpin a culture-free understanding of fungal structures, including insights into what determines whether they behave commensally or pathogenically.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Our understanding of fungal biology is in its infancy, with perhaps only 3 per cent of Earth’s fungal organisms currently known and catalogued. This situation is being improved by research in the lab and out in the field. Improved healthcare and other Opportunities from fundamental fungal biology will arise through measures such as establishing biobanks of fungi and creating better model organisms, which should also help mitigate fungal biodiversity loss. This will be important, as all of Earth’s ecosystems rely on Fungal ecology and evolution to exploit opportunities and manage threats. Techniques such as “shotgun” metagenomics are already helping us to understand human-fungal interactions and how they will develop due to external factors such as climate change. It is vital that we study the Mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis and symbiosis for this reason. Emerging pathogens such as valley fever are probably just the beginning of new threats, given rising global temperatures and agricultural practices, both of which can force fungi out of their established environmental niches and into greater contact with humans. There is certainly good reason to research strategies for Combatting fungal pandemics. Vaccines and targeted fungicides are among the measures in development, as well as efforts to gain a better understanding of the fungal microbiome and virome in order to steer their properties and behaviour.