Dimorphism In Human Pathogenic And Apathogenic Yeasts

'... The book is an interesting mixture of both clinical and fundamental mycology.... is illustrated throughout with excellent black and white photographs, clear diagrams and useful tables, and each chapter contains an extensive list of relevant publications. It is an excellent review of many aspects of dimorphisms in yeasts.'

The tendency of fungi pathogenic for humans to have shapes in tissue distinct from their usual saprophytic morphologies has fascinated the pathologist and medical mycologist for almost a century. A primary rea son for this fascination is the possibility that fungal duality of form, or dimorphism, may be an important virulence factor that allows the zoo pathogenic fungus to survive host defenses. A second reason relates to the desire to gain basic insights into the regulation of cellular develop ment and morphogenesis among the etiological agents of human mycoses. Many excellent treatises have appeared within the recent past dealing with fungal dimorphism. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that it may be beyond the capability of one or a few authors to review this subject adequately. Instead, the ever-increasing volume ofliterature asso ciated with fungal dimorphism and the diversity offungi now recognized to exhibit a type of dimorphism suggest that a volume comprised of con tributions by numerous researchers may be more appropriate. This per ception provided me with the motivation to compile a multiauthor volume.

Fungal dimorphism is a topic that sounds inherently too rarified to attract more than a specialist audience. Yet some 230 individuals representing an eclectic mixture of interests, from basic science to medical practice, gathered in Churchill College, Cambridge in Semptember 1992 for a meeting devoted only to this subject. The symposium was the fourth in a series "Topics in Mycology" to be jointly organized by the Janssen Research Foundation and the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. The participants enjoyed a rich and varied diet of oral presentations and poster displays in the field of fungal morphogenesis. This book sets down in print the material presented at the dimorphism symposium. We think that the high quality of these papers conveys very well the flavor of what was an excellent meeting. The selection of contributions in this volume covers very wide ground indeed. Chapters devoted to some non-pathogenic fungi are included, because the scientific basis of morphological development belongs to the fields of cellular and molecular biology: it does not recognize the boundary imposed by considerations of virulence of a fungus for a human host. Yet morphogenetic change in those fungi that do cause human disease frequently appears to be a component of the pathological process: many important pathogens change from a hyphal form in the external environment to a round form in infected tissues. This relationship between dimorphism and pathogenicity is the point of contact between pure biology and medicine.

Reviews and recent results of studies with medically important fungi. Throughout the volume, outstanding mycologists treat the ecological role of pathogenic fungi, how they cause disease, their interactions with the immune system, and their responses to antifungal agents. Most of the presented results are based on molecular biological approaches: areas where classical and descriptive methods are applied are also included.

"A subject collection from Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine."

This text gives an overview of the fundamental aspects of molecular fungal development in one comprehensive volume, highlighting different elements in the maturational and reproductive cycles of selected fungal taxa.

This volume scopes several aspects of non-conventional yeast research prepared by the leading specialists in the field. An introduction on taxonomy and systematics enhances the reader’s knowledge on yeasts beyond established ones such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biotechnological approaches that involve fungal utilization of unusual substrates, production of biofuels and useful chemicals as citric acid, glutathione or erythritol are discussed. Further, strategies for metabolic engineering based on knowledge on regulation of gene expression as well as sensing and signaling pathways are presented. The book targets researchers and advanced students working in Microbiology, Microbial Biotechnology and Biochemistry.