Homeodomain protein Sxi1α independently controls cell-cell fusion and gene expression during sexual reproduction in Cryptococcus deneoformans Author summary Analogous to processes observed in many eukaryotic organisms, fungal sexual reproduction reshuffles genetic material, producing novel genetic variants with increased fitness and/or adap...

Our paper is finally out in PLOS Genetics! Glad to share this work exploring new functions of the Sxi1/Sxi2 homeodomain proteins in Cryptococcus deneoformans. dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Excited to share new work from Sarvesh Surve examining the gut microbiota of adults with CF using colonoscopy samples and a culturomics approach. We note continued depletion of Bacteroidota (which we noted in kids) & enrichment of aerobes in the mucosa of pwCF.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41256617/

Whole-chromosome duplications drive antimicrobial resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus Aneuploidy causes genome plasticity and enables adaptive responses that confer drug resistance in eukaryotes ranging from fungal pathogens to human cancer cells. Aspergillus fumigatus is a soil-reside...

Excited to share our new preprint in collaboration with @kellerlab.bsky.social! We identified unstable aneuploidy in Aspergillus fumigatus and explore how aneuploidy-mediated transcriptional and metabolic changes influence antifungal resistance.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Extremely excited to present our latest preprint in which we mapped a thermoregulation network that governs virulence in a human fungal pathogen through genetic suppressors, TurboID proximity ligation assay, and functional regulation via domain-truncation alleles.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Population structure in a fungal human pathogen is potentially linked to pathogenicity Nature Communications - Genetic diversity between clinical and environmental fungal isolates of Aspergillus flavus is poorly studied. Here, the authors analysed genomic data from a global set of...

Thrilled to share that the final chapter of my PhD with @rokaslab.bsky.social is now out in @natcomms.nature.com 🎉
Read it to find out how population structure impacts pathogenicity in Aspergillus flavus, a fungus that infects humans 🧪
rdcu.be/eAToj

Aspergillus fumigatus dsRNA virus promotes fungal fitness and pathogenicity in the mammalian host - Nature Microbiology A mycovirus infecting the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus enhances its stress tolerance and virulence in mice.

🚨 Fungi + viruses + mammalian lungs? Buckle up! Our new paper in
@natmicrobiol.nature.com
uncovers the story of a deadly fungus and its gnarly viral hitchhiker — and how this duo may change how we diagnose & treat fungal disease 🍄🫁🚨 doi.org/10.1038/s415... ⬇️