Plastiphily is linked to generic virulence traits of important human pathogenic fungi

verfasst von

Gerasimos Gkoutselis, Stephan Rohrbach, Janno Harjes, Andreas Brachmann, Marcus A. Horn, Gerhard Rambold

Abstract

Fungi comprise relevant human pathogens, causing over a billion infections each year. Plastic pollution alters niches of fungi by providing trillions of artificial microhabitats, mostly in the form of microplastics, where pathogens might accumulate, thrive, and evolve. However, interactions between fungi and microplastics in nature are largely unexplored. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the assembly, architecture, and ecology of mycobiomes in soil (micro)plastispheres near human dwellings in a model- and network-based metagenome study combined with a global-scale trait data annotation. Our results reveal a strong selection of important human pathogens, in an idiosyncratic, otherwise predominantly neutrally assembled plastisphere, which is strongly linked to generic fungal virulence traits. These findings substantiate our niche expansion postulate, demonstrate the emergence of plastiphily among fungal pathogens and imply the existence of a plastisphere virulence school, underpinning the need to declare microplastics as a factor of global health.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Mikrobiologie

Externe Organisation(en)

Universität Bayreuth
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Communications Earth and Environment

Band

5

Publikationsdatum

25.01.2024

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Umweltwissenschaften (insg.), Erdkunde und Planetologie (insg.)

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 3 – Gute Gesundheit und Wohlergehen

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01127-3 (Zugang: Offen)