Mar 29, The Yeast Threat is Worse than Expected
While it has been known for some time that fungal (yeast) infections can exacerbate conditions such as AIDS and herpes, it has previously been thought that the evolution of such infections was slow in comparison with bacteriological infections.
Researchers from Oregon State University in collaboration with the Broad Institute, Massachusetts, University of Amsterdam and University of Minnesota have now shown that fungi have significant potential for what is known as horizontal gene transfer.
In simple terms, this means fungal infections can mutate just as quickly as any bacterial infection, causing antibiotic resistance and raising concerns not only for human medical science but also for crop science (many crop failures throughout the world are caused by fungal infection).
Said Michael Freitag, assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Oregon:
[but] in this study, we found fungi able to transfer an infectious capability to a different strain in a single generation. He added: We've probably underestimated this phenomenon, and it indicates that fungal strains may become pathogenic faster than we used to think possible."
