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

authored by: 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.
Organisation(s): Institute of Microbiology
External Organisation(s): University of Bayreuth
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
Type: Article
Journal: Communications Earth and Environment
Volume: 5
Publication date: 25.01.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: General Environmental Science, General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01127-3 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{44c9014614a1443e8a5c62cf5766925a,
title = "Plastiphily is linked to generic virulence traits of important human pathogenic fungi",
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.",
author = "Gerasimos Gkoutselis and Stephan Rohrbach and Janno Harjes and Andreas Brachmann and Horn, {Marcus A.} and Gerhard Rambold",
note = "Funding Information: This study was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) - SFB 1357-39197756; Subproject C04, and the Open Access Publishing Fund of the University of Bayreuth. We wish to thank Derek Per{\v s}oh (Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, University of Bayreuth) for his help in the optimisation of sequence data processing, Stella Franca R{\"o}sch (Chair of Marketing and Innovation, University of Bayreuth) for her support in graphic formatting and Luca S{\"o}hnel (Dept. of Mycology, University of Bayreuth) for his assistance in the subsampling process. Gratitude is also dedicated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) for providing the export permit (Phytosanitary certificate no. 207/2019), the Bayerische Landesanstalt f{\"u}r Landwirtschaft, Institut f{\"u}r Pflanzenschutz for issue of the import authorisation (IPS 4a-7322.451) and the ITCER e.V. ( https://itcer.org ) for on-site support. Funding Information: This study was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) - SFB 1357-39197756; Subproject C04, and the Open Access Publishing Fund of the University of Bayreuth. We wish to thank Derek Per{\v s}oh (Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, University of Bayreuth) for his help in the optimisation of sequence data processing, Stella Franca R{\"o}sch (Chair of Marketing and Innovation, University of Bayreuth) for her support in graphic formatting and Luca S{\"o}hnel (Dept. of Mycology, University of Bayreuth) for his assistance in the subsampling process. Gratitude is also dedicated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) for providing the export permit (Phytosanitary certificate no. 207/2019), the Bayerische Landesanstalt f{\"u}r Landwirtschaft, Institut f{\"u}r Pflanzenschutz for issue of the import authorisation (IPS 4a-7322.451) and the ITCER e.V. (https://itcer.org) for on-site support.",
year = "2024",
month = jan,
day = "25",
doi = "10.1038/s43247-023-01127-3",
language = "English",
volume = "5",
journal = "Communications Earth and Environment",
issn = "2662-4435",
publisher = "Springer Nature",
}