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Fungi’s Swiss Army Knife: Pleiotropic Effect of Melanin in Fungal Pathogenesis during Cattle Mycosis

Authors :
Víctor Romero
Carolina Kalinhoff
Luis Rodrigo Saa
Aminael Sánchez
Source :
Journal of Fungi, Vol 9, Iss 9, p 929 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2023.

Abstract

Fungal threats to public health, food security, and biodiversity have escalated, with a significant rise in mycosis cases globally. Around 300 million people suffer from severe fungal diseases annually, while one-third of food crops are decimated by fungi. Vertebrate, including livestock, are also affected. Our limited understanding of fungal virulence mechanisms hampers our ability to prevent and treat cattle mycoses. Here we aim to bridge knowledge gaps in fungal virulence factors and the role of melanin in evading bovine immune responses. We investigate mycosis in bovines employing a PRISMA-based methodology, bioinformatics, and data mining techniques. Our analysis identified 107 fungal species causing mycoses, primarily within the Ascomycota division. Candida, Aspergillus, Malassezia, and Trichophyton were the most prevalent genera. Of these pathogens, 25% produce melanin. Further research is required to explore the involvement of melanin and develop intervention strategies. While the literature on melanin-mediated fungal evasion mechanisms in cattle is lacking, we successfully evaluated the transferability of immunological mechanisms from other model mammals through homology. Bioinformatics enables knowledge transfer and enhances our understanding of mycosis in cattle. This synthesis fills critical information gaps and paves the way for proposing biotechnological strategies to mitigate the impact of mycoses in cattle.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2309608X
Volume :
9
Issue :
9
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Journal of Fungi
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.9bed20a33a494b4880f5f70103b105c4
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9090929