Overview
- Researchers found a direct link between glycolysis and the production of sulfur-containing amino acids that governs fungi’s transition into invasive forms.
- When sugar breakdown was slowed in lab tests, fungi stayed in the harmless yeast state, and adding sulfur-containing amino acids restored filament formation.
- A Candida albicans strain lacking a key glycolytic enzyme was metabolically crippled, more easily cleared by macrophages, and caused much milder disease in mice.
- The team argues that targeting metabolism could be an Achilles’ heel across fungal species with potential benefits for human and agricultural health, though the work remains preclinical.
- The findings arrive as severe fungal infections and crop losses are rising while current antifungal drugs are few, often toxic, and increasingly undermined by resistance.