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Global warming will bring new fungal diseases for mammals

Monica A Garcia-Solache1, Arturo Casadevall

  • 1Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Bronx, New York, USA.

Mbio
|August 7, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Global warming may increase mammalian fungal diseases. Rising temperatures could expand fungal pathogen ranges and select for heat-tolerant fungi, impacting animal and human health.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Climate Change Impact

Background:

  • Fungi are significant pathogens across diverse taxa, but rarely infect mammals.
  • Mammalian resistance to fungi is linked to complex immunity and endothermy (internal heat generation).
  • High mammalian body temperatures create a thermal barrier for most fungal species.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To hypothesize the impact of global warming on mammalian fungal diseases.
  • To explore mechanisms by which climate change may increase fungal infections in mammals.

Main Methods:

  • The study proposes a hypothesis based on existing knowledge of fungal pathogenicity and mammalian physiology.
  • It analyzes the potential effects of rising global temperatures on fungal species and their interaction with mammals.

Main Results:

  • Global warming is hypothesized to increase fungal disease prevalence in mammals.
  • Mechanism 1: Expansion of the geographic range of existing fungal pathogens.
  • Mechanism 2: Selection for thermotolerance in fungi, enabling them to overcome mammalian temperature defenses.

Conclusions:

  • Endothermy's protective effect against fungi may be compromised by rising global temperatures.
  • Increased thermotolerance in fungi could lead to novel or more frequent mammalian fungal infections.
  • Climate change poses a potential threat to mammalian health through increased fungal disease risk.

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