Hello!

By: Destiny Okoh

Invasive
Fungal Diseases
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 Introduction 02 Innate Immunity

Increased
03 Thermal Tolerance 04 Candida Auris

05 Conclusion
 01
Introduction
Introduction
Pathogens pose a significant risk to public
health. Historically, pathogens such as
bacteria and virus have caused infamous
disease like COVID-19 and as a result
pathogen like fungi, have been garnered
less attention.

Fungi, normally, do not impact ectothermic

animals. However, environmental shifts,
particularly the steady rise in global
temperatures, have directly influenced the Figure 1
dynamics of fungi [1].
 02
Innate
Immunity
 Protection against Fungi
1. Immune system 2. Body Temperature
Our immune system contains macrophages Fungi can infect ectothermic organisms like
and neutrophils that help protect us against plants but have a hard time infecting
invaders. However new medication and endothermic organism like mammals [1].
diseases can dramatically weaken our
immune system [1].

Figure 2
 03
Increased Thermal
Tolerance
Increased Thermal
Tolerance
By incorporating archival information dating
back to 1951, Robert and et.al were able to
compare the thermal tolerance across fungi
species [2].

The data indicated that fungi have evolved to

grow at higher temperatures [2] which
bypasses the thermal barrier that protect
humans.

Figure 3
 Global Warming Hypothesis

The “Global Warming Emergence Hypothesis”,

suggest that this strain's ability to infect humans
has emerged due to its adaptation to replicate
and infect at higher temperatures [3].

The steady increase in temperature provides the

ideal conditions and selective pressure that can
lead to the emergence of new fungal pathogens
[3].

Figure 4
 04
Candida Auris
 Candida Auris

A prime example of a fungi that has evolved due

to global temperature rise is Candida Auris.
Two distinct features set this fungus apart: it
emerged in multiple locations simultaneously,
and emerged as a strain that is resistant to
antifungal medication [4].

Figure 5
 05
Conclusion
Conclusions/ Areas of Research
The emergence of new resistant fungal diseases is a serious threat to the
human population and is exacerbated by global warming.

There are different areas of research that can be explored to minimize the
effects of invasive fungal disease including: how long it can persist on
surfaces, the mechanism it uses to evade antifungal medication, and ways
we can stall or reverse rising global temperatures.
 THANKS!
CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slideshow, and includes
icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik
 References
Figures
1. The wood wide web – why fungi are essential to forests - creating tomorrow’s
forests: Restoring biodiversity by creating habitats and planting trees. Creating
Tomorrow’s Forests’. (n.d.).
https://www.creatingtomorrowsforests.co.uk/blog/the-wood-wide-web-why-fungi-
are-essential-to-forests
2. Ktori, S. (2023, June 2). Study shows that immune system neutrophils and
macrophages cooperate to trap and kill bacteria. GEN.
https://www.genengnews.com/news/study-shows-that-immune-system-neutrophi
ls-and-macrophages-cooperate-to-trap-and-kill-bacteria/
3. Robert, V., Cardinali, G. & Casadevall, A. Distribution and impact of yeast
thermal tolerance permissive for mammalian infection. BMC Biol 13, 18
(2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-015-0127-3
4. Ritchie, H., Roser, M., & Rosado, P. (2020, May 11). CO₂ and greenhouse gas
emissions. Our World in Data.
https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions
5. Zoppi, L. (2022, September 2). Candida auris (C. auris): Everything you need
to know. News. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Candida-auris-%28
C-auris%29-Everything-You-Need-to-Know.aspx
Text and Ideas
1. Casadevall, A. (2022). Immunity to Invasive Fungal Diseases.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-immunol-101220-034306\
2. Casadevall A, Kontoyiannis DP, Robert V. On the Emergence of Candida
auris: Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and Birds. mBio. 2019 July
23;10(4):e01397-19. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01397-19. PMID: 31337723;
PMCID: PMC6650554.
3. Casadevall A, Kontoyiannis DP, Robert V. Environmental Candida auris and
the Global Warming Emergence Hypothesis. mBio. 2021 Mar
16;12(2):e00360-21. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00360-21. PMID: 33727350;
PMCID: PMC8092241.
4. Jackson, B. R., Chow, N., Forsberg, K., Litvintseva, A. P., Lockhart, S. R.,
Welsh, R., Vallabhaneni, S., & Chiller, T. (2019). On the Origins of a
Species: What Might Explain the Rise of Candida auris? Journal of fungi
(Basel, Switzerland), 5(3), 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof5030058