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Editorial overview: Parasitic and fungal diseases
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ScienceDirect Editorial overview: Parasitic and fungal diseases Gero Steinberg Current Opinion in Microbiology 2016, 34:v–vi For a complete overview see the Issue http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2016.11.005 1369-5274/# 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Gero Steinberg
School of Biosciences, Stocker Road, EX4 4QD Exeter, United Kingdom e-mail: [email protected] Gero Steinberg is Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Exeter and holds an honorary Donder’s Chair at the University of Utrecht. His research focuses on the cell biology and pathogenicity of the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis and the Septoria tritici wheat blotch fungus Zymoseptoria tritici. Recently, his team have made major discoveries in describing the role of fungal early endosome motility in effector secretion and in the spatial organisation of organelles and polysomes within the fungal cells.
A major threat to the growing world population is the burden of infectious diseases caused by microbes. For the past couple of decades, research efforts have focussed mainly on malaria and tuberculosis, which in 2015, according to the World Health Organization, caused 438 000 and 1.8 million death, respectively [1]. The disease burden will further increase, as bacterial resistance against antibiotics emerges, which is expected to increase casualties from currently 700 000 to 10 million per year [2]. However, several other microbial diseases pose significant threats to human health. Amongst these are parasitic diseases, such as Leishmaniasis, Amoebiasis or Trypanosomiasis, which severely impact on humans and cause >80 000 death per year worldwide (http://blogs.plos.org/), while 200 million people are debilitated by Giardia intestinalis infection each year [3]. Moreover, 300 million people suffer from serious fungal infections worldwide, such as Candidaisis, Aspergillosis or Cryptococcosis, with 25 million being at high risk of dying or becoming blind [4]. However, there is a much greater burden of eukaryotic disease on humans, due to the microbial challenge of global food security. In particular disease caused by fungi and oomycetes devastate our harvests and lead to severe malnutrition and starvation worldwide [5]. Indeed, it was estimated that the harvest losses due to rice blast disease (caused by Magnaporthe oryzae), maize smut (caused by Ustilago maydis) and late blight of potatoes (caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans) is sufficient to feed 320 to 2300 million people with 2000 Kcalories per day [5]. Thus, crop diseases have a huge humanitarian impact on the world’s population. This special edition, on parasitic and fungal diseases, draws together the latest insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning the establishment and progression of infectious diseases in humans and crop plants. In 10 articles, leading experts focus on various pathogens and their relationship with their respective hosts. This covers protozoal infections (Leishmania spp.: de Pablos et al.; Entamoeba histolytica: Aguilar-Rojas et al.; Trypanosomas brucei: Zoltner et al.; G. intestinalis: Sva¨rd, human mycosis (Candida albicans: Dantas et al.; Aspergillus fumigatus: Krappmann; Cryptococcus neoformans: Taylor-Smith and May and crop diseases (U. maydis: Matei and Doehlemann; M. oryzae: Yan and Talbot; P. infestans: Whisson and Birch. These pathogens cause a diverse range of diseases, and it is therefore not surprising that the research, summarised here, covers disparate topics. This is most obvious amongst the protozoal diseases, with emphasis on RNA dynamics and translational control in Leishmania spp., cell motility and tissue invasion in E. histolytica, whereas research on T. brucei focuses on endocytic membrane trafficking and drug resistance. However, the themes are more united within the fungal diseases. Fungi invade substrates by tip-growing hyphae and are protected against the environment by the fungal cell wall, which also forms the interface with the host. Thus, research in human
www.sciencedirect.com
Current Opinion in Microbiology 2016, 34:v–vi
vi Parasitic and fungal diseases
pathogens covers the role of the cell wall in immune recognition, as well as in the transition between morphogenic stages. The invading hyphae of oomycetes and plant pathogenic fungi must overcome immune recognition by the plant host. They therefore secrete effector molecules, which manipulate the plant in multiple ways to allow successful infection and colonisation. Collectively, these review articles inform the reader about the current status and most recent studies in important microbial diseases.
Current Opinion in Microbiology 2016, 34:v–vi
Acknowledgment I am grateful to Sarah J. Gurr for her invaluable advice into this section.
References 1. 2.
http://www.who.int/en/. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance; https://amr-review.org/.
3.
In: https://www.epa.gov.
4.
In: http://www.gaffi.org.
5.
Fisher MC, Henk DA, Briggs CJ, Brownstein JS, Madoff LC, McCraw SL, Gurr SJ: Emerging fungal threats to animal, plant and ecosystem health. Nature 2012, 484:186-194.
www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect Editorial overview: Parasitic and fungal diseases Gero Steinberg Current Opinion in Microbiology 2016, 34:v–vi For a complete overview see the Issue http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2016.11.005 1369-5274/# 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Gero Steinberg
School of Biosciences, Stocker Road, EX4 4QD Exeter, United Kingdom e-mail: [email protected] Gero Steinberg is Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Exeter and holds an honorary Donder’s Chair at the University of Utrecht. His research focuses on the cell biology and pathogenicity of the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis and the Septoria tritici wheat blotch fungus Zymoseptoria tritici. Recently, his team have made major discoveries in describing the role of fungal early endosome motility in effector secretion and in the spatial organisation of organelles and polysomes within the fungal cells.
A major threat to the growing world population is the burden of infectious diseases caused by microbes. For the past couple of decades, research efforts have focussed mainly on malaria and tuberculosis, which in 2015, according to the World Health Organization, caused 438 000 and 1.8 million death, respectively [1]. The disease burden will further increase, as bacterial resistance against antibiotics emerges, which is expected to increase casualties from currently 700 000 to 10 million per year [2]. However, several other microbial diseases pose significant threats to human health. Amongst these are parasitic diseases, such as Leishmaniasis, Amoebiasis or Trypanosomiasis, which severely impact on humans and cause >80 000 death per year worldwide (http://blogs.plos.org/), while 200 million people are debilitated by Giardia intestinalis infection each year [3]. Moreover, 300 million people suffer from serious fungal infections worldwide, such as Candidaisis, Aspergillosis or Cryptococcosis, with 25 million being at high risk of dying or becoming blind [4]. However, there is a much greater burden of eukaryotic disease on humans, due to the microbial challenge of global food security. In particular disease caused by fungi and oomycetes devastate our harvests and lead to severe malnutrition and starvation worldwide [5]. Indeed, it was estimated that the harvest losses due to rice blast disease (caused by Magnaporthe oryzae), maize smut (caused by Ustilago maydis) and late blight of potatoes (caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans) is sufficient to feed 320 to 2300 million people with 2000 Kcalories per day [5]. Thus, crop diseases have a huge humanitarian impact on the world’s population. This special edition, on parasitic and fungal diseases, draws together the latest insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning the establishment and progression of infectious diseases in humans and crop plants. In 10 articles, leading experts focus on various pathogens and their relationship with their respective hosts. This covers protozoal infections (Leishmania spp.: de Pablos et al.; Entamoeba histolytica: Aguilar-Rojas et al.; Trypanosomas brucei: Zoltner et al.; G. intestinalis: Sva¨rd, human mycosis (Candida albicans: Dantas et al.; Aspergillus fumigatus: Krappmann; Cryptococcus neoformans: Taylor-Smith and May and crop diseases (U. maydis: Matei and Doehlemann; M. oryzae: Yan and Talbot; P. infestans: Whisson and Birch. These pathogens cause a diverse range of diseases, and it is therefore not surprising that the research, summarised here, covers disparate topics. This is most obvious amongst the protozoal diseases, with emphasis on RNA dynamics and translational control in Leishmania spp., cell motility and tissue invasion in E. histolytica, whereas research on T. brucei focuses on endocytic membrane trafficking and drug resistance. However, the themes are more united within the fungal diseases. Fungi invade substrates by tip-growing hyphae and are protected against the environment by the fungal cell wall, which also forms the interface with the host. Thus, research in human
www.sciencedirect.com
Current Opinion in Microbiology 2016, 34:v–vi
vi Parasitic and fungal diseases
pathogens covers the role of the cell wall in immune recognition, as well as in the transition between morphogenic stages. The invading hyphae of oomycetes and plant pathogenic fungi must overcome immune recognition by the plant host. They therefore secrete effector molecules, which manipulate the plant in multiple ways to allow successful infection and colonisation. Collectively, these review articles inform the reader about the current status and most recent studies in important microbial diseases.
Current Opinion in Microbiology 2016, 34:v–vi
Acknowledgment I am grateful to Sarah J. Gurr for her invaluable advice into this section.
References 1. 2.
http://www.who.int/en/. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance; https://amr-review.org/.
3.
In: https://www.epa.gov.
4.
In: http://www.gaffi.org.
5.
Fisher MC, Henk DA, Briggs CJ, Brownstein JS, Madoff LC, McCraw SL, Gurr SJ: Emerging fungal threats to animal, plant and ecosystem health. Nature 2012, 484:186-194.
www.sciencedirect.com