Norio Takeshita

Homepage - 33rd Fungal Genetics Conference Visit our website to learn more.

Registration open for #Fungal26 genetics-gsa.org/fungal-2026/ at Asilomar.

The koji-fungus, Aspergillus oryzae, traditionally used in Japanese brewing, is now widely used to make enzymes.

It seems its capacity for enzyme production is thanks to its unique ability to proportionally increase cell volume and nuclear number.
buff.ly/bPSNRL6

A timetree of Fungi dated with fossils and horizontal gene transfers - Nature Ecology & Evolution Combining fossil-based and molecular calibrations with data on horizontal gene transfer events, the authors develop a time-calibrated phylogeny of Fungi. This timescale, which integrates analytic uncertainties, suggests an older age of crown Fungi (1,401–896 million years ago), as well as a minimum age for ancient interactions involving fungi and the algal ancestors of embryophytes in terrestrial ecosystems (1,253–797 Ma).

A timetree of Fungi dated with fossils and horizontal gene transfers

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Remarkable cellular adaptations in domesticated fungi.
Version of Record, koji-kin 麹菌 @eLife
The increase in cell volume and nuclear number of the koji-fungus Aspergillus oryzae contributes to its high enzyme productivity.
elifesciences.org/articles/107...

Hidden Allies: Decoding the Core Endohyphal Bacteriome of Aspergillus fumigatus Aspergillus fumigatus, a widespread fungal pathogen commonly found in soil, harbours a diverse endohyphal bacterial community. Microscopic analyses, including transmission electron microscopy, confir...

Hidden Allies: Decoding the Core Endohyphal Bacteriome of Aspergillus fumigatus

#EnvironMicrobiol from Cristina Silva Pereira

enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Thrilled to have our spatial single-cell atlas of the Arabidopsis lifecycle in @NaturePlants. Turns out that its easy to make nice images when spatial expression of 1,000 genes is available! 1/n
@natanellae.bsky.social @tatsuyanobori.bsky.social @joeecker.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We have posted our latest preprint. We explore how an endophytic fungus promotes plant growth and fitness under fluctuating nitrogen-limited conditions in both field and laboratory settings, in additively with bacteria attracted to its hyphae. We hope you enjoy it!

Cell wall remodeling in a fungal pathogen is required for hyphal growth into microspaces. #mBio This study highlights the critical role of hyphal plasticity and cell wall remodeling in the pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum by genetics and micro-channel devices. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Our reviewed preprint on koji-fungus is out @eLife. We analyzed why Aspergillus oryzae is an excellent enzyme producer and discovered a trait, 10-fold increase in hyphal cell volume and nuclear number. Interestingly, this also applies to other industrially bred fungi.
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

The Fungal Kingdom as a Rosetta Stone for biological discovery Long-time Current Biology advisory board member, Joseph Heitman, introduces this special issue on ‘The Fungi’.

The Fungal Kingdom as a Rosetta Stone for biological discovery – a long-time Current Biology advisory board member, Joseph Heitman, introduces the special issue on ‘The Fungi’. www.cell.com/current-biol...

📢Our synthesis of current knowledge on the fascinating cell of #arbuscular #mycorrhizal fungi is out @currentbiology.bsky.social, part of the special #fungi issue. With @rachaelcargill.bsky.social @tobykiers.bsky.social @thomasshimizu.bsky.social

Open access link: www.cell.com/current-biol...

1/4

Wow... Mycorrhizal fungal highways for plant signals and rhizobia  -> Legume-specific recruitment of rhizobia by hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi | The ISME Journal | Oxford Academic

Distribution of haploid chromosomes into separate nuclei in two pathogenic fungi Nuclei define eukaryotes, enabling macromolecular compartmentalization and cellular regulation. Each nucleus is believed to contain one or more haploid sets of chromosomes (1N). However, we discovered...

Wow: check it out; these fungi distribute their chromosomes across different nuclei!

Normally each nucleus has a complete set of all chromosomes.

Distribution of haploid chromosomes into separate nuclei in two pathogenic fungi | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Secretion and endocytosis in subapical cells support hyphal tip growth in the fungus Trichoderma reesei - Nature Communications It is commonly accepted that the hyphae of filamentous fungi expand by tip growth that is restricted to the first apical cell. Here, Schuster et al. show that, contrary to expectations, subapical cell...

Secretion and endocytosis in subapical cells support hyphal tip growth in the fungus Trichoderma reesei
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Giant transposons promote strain heterogeneity in a major fungal pathogen | mBio No “one size fits all” option exists for treating fungal infections in large part due to genetic and phenotypic variability among strains. Accounting for strain heterogeneity is thus fundamental for d...

We dive into the dynamics of #starships 🚀 in a fungal pathogen to ask: how might these giant #transposons impact human health? We find they drive genome-wide variation, encode clinically-relevant traits and even transpose within the same strain! 🍄🧪 out today in mBio #goteam doi.org/10.1128/mbio...

Hope this new review on the fungal cell wall is useful. Dedicated to Salomon Bartnicki-Garcia and his inspiring work on the fungal hypha. A special issue of FGB
Article link:
doi.org/10.1016/j.fg....

Webinar Alert🌱
Want to learn cutting-edge studies in plant-microbe interaction? Join our webinar "Advances in Plant-Microbe Interactions: Insights from Asia to the World" with
@elifecommunity.bsky.social !
📅 May 19, 2025 | 🕝 JST 14:30–17:20 (UTC+9)
📌Register: u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

A fungal transcription factor converts a beneficial root endophyte into an anthracnose leaf pathogen Endophytic fungi colonize healthy plant tissues without disease. Ujimatsu et al. reveal that the fungal transcription factor CtBOT6 triggers the virulence of a root-associated beneficial endophyte by ...

Thrilled to share my first paper published at Current biology!!
We found that the expression level of one single transcription factor converts beneficial root endophyte into pathogenic guy😈 (1/8) www.cell.com/current-biol...

Aspergillus fumigatus secondary metabolite pyripyropene is important for the dual biofilm formation with Pseudomonas aeruginosa | mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Fungi are extraordinary at solving complex problems.

Incredible to see their strategies highlighted in @nytimes.com by @alanburdick.bsky.social

The article is a visual journey of what we have been documenting in the lab over last few years with our imaging robot

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/s...

Published a commentary article on a Nat Microbiol paper from Mengcen Wang group.
The first author Zhe took all the initiative from design, writing, and negotiating with the journal, making a class assignment a paper!

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Original paper
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Brilliant story presented by Naoyoshi Kumakura @ecfg172025.bsky.social #ecfg17 on how dihydroxyhexanoic acid mediates pore sizes in appresorium … see more here www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

+Our paper now out in @nature.com. We designed and built at AMOLF a robot that maps & tracks fungal networks as they trade nutrients with plants. We discovered how fungi build and operate hyper-efficient 'supply chains' for underground ecosystems.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A travelling-wave strategy for plant-fungal trade. An image of a microscopic view of fungi. Nature logo.

Our newest research on plant-fungal trade published today in @nature.com.

The work, led by scientists from Vrije Universiteit, Princeton University, SPUN & AMOLF combines robotics, mycology & biophysics to reveal underground supply-chain dynamics.

Open access:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Axel Brakhage is confirmed as the speaker for the Pontecorvo lecture that kicks off Asperfest on 1st March, followed by the welcome reception.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Turning antagonists into allies: Bacterial-fungal interactions enhance the efficacy of controlling Fusarium wilt disease Changes in the interactions between soil beneficial bacteria and fungi affect plant health.

Turning antagonists into allies: Bacterial-fungal interactions enhance the efficacy of controlling Fusarium wilt disease

#ScienceAdvances from Dongyang Liu/Qirong Shen at Nanjing Agricultural University

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Fungal impacts on Earth’s ecosystems - Nature This Review delves into the fungal kingdom, exploring the relationships among fungi, animals, plants and the environment, and investigating both the threats posed by fungi and their potential benefits...

Review in Nature

Case et al.
Fungal impacts on Earth’s ecosystems

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New mechanism for how soil bacteria may help to protect plants from soil-borne pathogenic fungi. Maybe this will disrupt interactions with mycorrhizal fungi?

Soil microbiome bacteria protect plants against filamentous fungal infections via intercellular contacts | PNAS

New year, new paper! Now published in @nature.com. We identified and characterised diverse immune cell states in plants under pathogen attack. My postdoc work in the Ecker lab at @salkinstitute.bsky.social. A thread (0/n)
#PlantScience
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

YouTube video by Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute IMC12 Fungal Landscapes Movie

Loved this new work of art produced for IMC12. It was so cool on the big screen! Now we can all enjoy.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUct...