Fungi's Swiss Army Knife: Pleiotropic Effect of Melanin in Fungal Pathogenesis during Cattle Mycosis.

Fungal threats to public health, food security, and biodiversity have escalated, with a significant rise in mycosis cases globally. Around 300 million people suffer from severe fungal diseases annually, while one-third of food crops are decimated by fungi. Vertebrate, including livestock, are also affected.

Generalist arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi dominated heavy metal polluted soils at two artisanal and small - scale gold mining sites in southeastern Ecuador.

Background: Artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities are producing contamination with heavy metals and metalloids (HMM) into soils and water worldwide. The HMM are considered as one of the major abiotic stresses due to their long-term persistence in soil. In this context, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) confer resistance to a variety of abiotic plant stressors including HMM.

Mercury Phytotoxicity and Tolerance in Three Wild Plants during Germination and Seedling Development.

By examining plant responses to heavy metal stress during the early stages of the life cycle, we can predict their tolerance and survival in polluted areas as well as their potential for bioremediation. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of exposure to mercury (Hg) on the germination and in vitro development of three plant species: , (Asteraceae), and (Malvaceae). These are wild ecotypes adapted to local edaphoclimatic conditions in southern Ecuador, an area which has been historically affected by artisanal and small-scale gold mining (SSGM).

Native Hyperaccumulator Plants with Differential Phytoremediation Potential in an Artisanal Gold Mine of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

In tropical forests of southern Ecuador, artisanal gold mining releases heavy metals that become xenobiotic with indefinite circulation and eventual bioaccumulation. Restoration and rehabilitation of degraded mining sites represent a major ecological, technological and economic issue. In this study, we estimate the capacity of two native woody plants to accumulate cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and mercury (Hg), with the goal of developing effective strategies for phytoremediation of mining sites.

Erato polymnioides - A novel Hg hyperaccumulator plant in ecuadorian rainforest acid soils with potential of microbe-associated phytoremediation.

Mercury (Hg) accumulation capacity was assessed in three plant species (Axonopus compressus, Erato polymnioides, and Miconia zamorensis) that grow on soils polluted by artisanal small-scale gold mines in the Ecuadorian rainforest. Individuals of three species were collected at two sampling zones: i) an intensive zone (IZ, 4.8 mg Hg kg of soil) where gold extraction continues to occur, and ii) a natural zone (NZ, 0.