Faster Food, Stronger Shape: How Sugar Pathways Shape Fungal Growth

When the environment changes, fungi switch between cell forms to survive or infect.
Scientists have mapped the genes that trigger these changes, but the energy source behind them was unknown—until now.

A new study shows that glycolysis, the sugar‑processing pathway, is a key power source for fungal shape shifts.
When glucose flow slows through this pathway, fungi lose the ability to synthesize sulfur‑rich amino acids. These molecules are essential for building proteins that enable new fungal forms.

Key Findings

• Sugar‑Metabolism Link: Slowing glycolysis cuts sulfur amino acid production, crippling shape change.
• Rescue by Nutrition: Adding external sulfur‑rich amino acids restores the fungi’s ability to switch forms.
• Broad Impact: Both baker’s yeast and a common human pathogen regain shape‑changing ability when supplied with these nutrients.
• In Vivo Evidence: A mouse strain of the pathogen lacking phosphofructokinase‑1 (a glycolysis enzyme) struggles inside immune cells and causes milder bloodstream infection.

These results reveal a partnership between sugar metabolism and sulfur chemistry that is vital for fungal flexibility and disease. Understanding this link could inform new antifungal strategies.