A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
School of Medicine and Public Health reports the discovery of a
master molecular sensor embedded in the spores of the fungi that
triggers a transformation from that of a benign lifestyle in the
soil to a deadly pathogen. For some microbes, the transformation
from a benign lifestyle in the soil to that of a potentially
deadly human pathogen is just a breath away. Inhaled into the
lungs of a mammal, spores from a class of six related soil molds
found around the world encounter a new, warmer environment. And
as soon as they do, they rapidly shift gears and assume the
guise of pathogenic yeast, causing such serious and sometimes
deadly afflictions as blastomycosis and histoplasmosis. But how
these usually bucolic fungi undergo such a transformation to
become serious pathogens has always been a puzzle. Now, however,
a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
School of Medicine and Public Health reports the discovery of a
master molecu