Fungal Infections

Infection of the Central Nervous System (CNS) by the encapsulated fungus Cryptococcus neoformans can lead to high mortality meningitis, most commonly in immunocompromised patients. While the mechanisms by which the fungus crosses the blood-brain barrier to initiate infection in the CNS are well recognized, there are still substantial unanswered questions about the disease progression once the fungus is established in the brain.

A multidisciplinary team of scientists will study how wildfire smoke spreads fungi that can affect human health, using artificial intelligence to predict future threats.

A known pathogenic fungus, so far only reported to cause disease in two crops, has ensnared a third victim: eggplants. UF plant pathologists affiliated with both UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the EPI, were the first to describe Lasiodiplodia hormozganensis’s jump to a new host.

Plant pathology researchers with UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute and IFAS seek to uncover what drives the spread of laurel wilt disease, an emerging forest pathogen responsible for killing more than 300 million redbays. A new study led by IFAS-EPI postdoctoral researcher Robin Choudhury found that the biggest indicator of a Laurel family trees’ susceptibility was having a large diameter trunk and dense clustering.

An 80-year search for a tree killer has ended, says a University of Florida forest pathologist who helped identify the fungus that virtually wiped out the Florida Torreya and fears it may threaten other species.