Emerging Fungal Threats to Plants and Animals Challenge Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience

Abstract

While fungi can make positive contributions to ecosystems and agro-ecosystems, for example, in mycorrhizal associations, they can also have devastating impacts as pathogens of plants and animals. In undisturbed ecosystems, most such negative interactions will be limited through the coevolution of fungi with their hosts. In this article, we explore what happens when pathogenic fungi spread beyond their natural ecological range and become invasive on naïve hosts in new ecosystems. We will see that such invasive pathogens have been problematic to humans and their domesticated plant and animal species throughout history, and we will discuss some of the most pressing fungal threats of today.