Vertebrate endothermy restricts most fungi as potential pathogens

Vincent A. Robert; Arturo Casadevall

doi:10.1086/644642

Vertebrate endothermy restricts most fungi as potential pathogens

Vincent A. Robert, Arturo Casadevall

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

104 Scopus citations

Abstract

The paucity of fungal diseases in mammals relative to insects, amphibians, and plants is puzzling.We analyzed the thermal tolerance of 4802 fungal strains from 144 genera and found that most cannot grow at mammalian temperatures. Fungi from insects and mammals had greater thermal tolerances than did isolates from soils and plants. Every 1°C increase in the 30°C-40°C range excluded an additional 6% of fungal isolates, implying that fever could significantly increase the thermal exclusion zone. Mammalian endothermy and homeothermy are potent nonspecific defenses against most fungi that could have provided a strong evolutionary survival advantage against fungal diseases.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1623-1626
Number of pages	4
Journal	Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume	200
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1086/644642
State	Published - Nov 2009
Externally published	Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Immunology and Allergy
Infectious Diseases

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10.1086/644642

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title = "Vertebrate endothermy restricts most fungi as potential pathogens",

abstract = "The paucity of fungal diseases in mammals relative to insects, amphibians, and plants is puzzling.We analyzed the thermal tolerance of 4802 fungal strains from 144 genera and found that most cannot grow at mammalian temperatures. Fungi from insects and mammals had greater thermal tolerances than did isolates from soils and plants. Every 1°C increase in the 30°C-40°C range excluded an additional 6% of fungal isolates, implying that fever could significantly increase the thermal exclusion zone. Mammalian endothermy and homeothermy are potent nonspecific defenses against most fungi that could have provided a strong evolutionary survival advantage against fungal diseases.",

author = "Robert, {Vincent A.} and Arturo Casadevall",

note = "Funding Information: Received 23 May 2009; accepted 18 June 2009; electronically published 14 October 2009. Potential conflicts of interest: none reported. Financial support: National Institutes of Health (awards 5R01AI033774, 5R01HL059842, and 2U54AI057158). Reprints or Correspondence: Dr Arturo Casadevall, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, 1300 Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY 10461 (arturo .casadevall@einstein.yu.edu).",

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doi = "10.1086/644642",

language = "English (US)",

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Vertebrate endothermy restricts most fungi as potential pathogens

Abstract

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