Human and Animal Relationships

Estimates based on sequencing data suggest that there are around 5.1 million species of fungi. Yet only a small number of fungi are harmful to animals, including humans. In addition to host-pathogen interactions, there are also mutualistic interactions between fungi and animals. Diseases caused by pathogenic fungi range from allergic reactions and superficial infections to invasive mycoses, and have a significant impact on human and animal life. Fungi are also cultivated by animals as a food source in highly developed relationships or are even involved in gut mutualism. This 3rd edition of Volume 6 of The Mycota highlights exemplary interactions between fungal pathogens and their host(s). The book is organized in three parts: Part 1 summarizes our current understanding of important pathogenic fungi such as Candida species, Malassezia yeasts, Aspergillus fumigatus and fungi of the order Mucorales. Part 2 addresses the characterization of the host response towards pathogenic fungi. It focuses on RNA as a mediator of host-pathogen interactions, the human gut mycobiome, the role of the innate immune system in fighting infections, pattern recognition receptors involved in fungal infections, and a summary of established infection models for studying host-fungal-pathogen interactions. Part 3 provides insights into the impact transcriptomics and proteomics technologies have on the research of human-pathogenic fungi. The up-to-date reviews by experts in the field provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the various research topics in the field of human and animal relationships with fungi and will hopefully help researchers to find inspiration for their own research.