Fungi as a model for expanding the understanding of dormancy across microbial life

Dormancy is a widespread strategy that enables microorganisms to survive unfavorable environmental conditions. While bacterial dormancy has been extensively studied, a comprehensive overview of fungal dormancy is missing, despite its ecological, medical, and industrial relevance. In this minireview, we summarize the diversity of structures in fungi that could play a role in dormancy and highlight their morphophysiological complexity, emphasizing their distinct developmental pathways and resistance mechanisms. Whenever possible, these structures are presented alongside a brief description of dormant bacterial cells to illustrate potential parallels between both groups and to highlight commonalities. We also explore the challenges of detecting and identifying fungal dormant structures in environmental samples, with a focus on our own research in deep geothermal environments. Despite recent advances, significant methodological gaps remain, particularly in the detection of structures like sclerotia. Recognizing the diversity of dormant structures and integrating multiple microbial models is essential to develop a unified framework for dormancy research. Such integration will enhance our understanding of microbial survival strategies and their roles in ecosystem resilience, biogeochemical cycling, and applied contexts ranging from food safety to human health. By identifying both shared and unique features of dormancy across microbial domains, the ecological significance of this fundamental strategy can be better explained and explored.