tRNA hypomodification facilitates 5-fluorocytosine resistance via cross-pathway control system activation in Aspergillus fumigatus.

Increasing antifungal drug resistance is a major concern associated with human fungal pathogens like Aspergillus fumigatus. Genetic mutation and epimutation mechanisms clearly drive resistance, yet the epitranscriptome remains relatively untested. Here, deletion of the A.

Disruption of the RNA interference machinery alters the conidial transcriptome.

The RNA interference (RNAi) pathway has evolved numerous functionalities in eukaryotes, with many on display in Kingdom Fungi. RNAi can regulate gene expression, facilitate drug resistance, or even be altogether lost to improve growth potential in some fungal pathogens. In the WHO fungal priority pathogen, , the RNAi system is known to be intact and functional.

RNA-based therapeutics to treat human fungal infections.

In recent decades, RNA-based therapeutics have transitioned from a near impossibility to a compelling treatment alternative for genetic disorders and infectious diseases. The mRNA vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are truly groundbreaking, and new adaptations are already being proposed to fight other microbes. Unfortunately, the potential of RNA-based therapeutics to treat human fungal infections has remained mostly absent from the conversation, despite the fact that invasive fungal infections kill as many per year as tuberculosis and even more than malaria.