Literary review research conducted by undergraduate student Nova Brown
Because of the effects of climate change like rising temperatures and soil pH change, fungi (pathogenic or non-pathogenic) have been adapting for their best fit survival. These adaptations have caused public health and agriculture production concerns.
Fungi are becoming more resistant to medicine and hotter environments, directly increasing deadly human infections and threatening global food security. These adaptations allow fungi to breach human immune defenses, damage agriculture, and thrive due to climate change.
Outside of the obvious mitigation efforts of tackling climate change directly, options like an increased monitoring and research on fungal adaptations and investment in immunotherapies and treatment development could improve the outcomes for vulnerable populations who face a higher mortality rate from invasive fungal infections.
Microbial communities help form the base of ecosystem resilience. Because of the interconnective nature of fungi, many different ecosystems are impacted by the effects of climate change and human involvement in the ecosystem. A rise in drastic temperate changes and other environmental effects of climate change has been reshaping the future of fungi’s genetics and ecology. Under these harsh conditions, fungi such as Candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus, Coccidioides immitis, and Emergomyces canadensis have been seen to have developed specific adaptations to be able to survive. This would include thermotolerance, expansion of habitat, and an accelerated genetic mutation rate that causes higher resistance with antifungals. Within this study perspective, potential strategies including fungal surveillance and ways to counter the negative interactions of recent fungal adaptations.