Adejor John, Tumukunde Elisabeth, Li Guoqi, Shehu Tanimu Alhaji, Wu Lihan, Jiang Zhiwei, Wang Shihua
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of Education Ministry, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
College of Chemical Engineering, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, China.
FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2025 Jan 14;49. doi: 10.1093/femsre/fuaf028.
Metabolomics, a critical tool for analyzing small-molecule metabolites, integrates with genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics to provide a systems-level understanding of fungal biology. By mapping metabolic networks, it elucidates regulatory mechanisms driving physiological and ecological adaptations. In fungal pathogenesis, metabolomics reveals host-pathogen dynamics, identifying virulence factors like gliotoxin in Aspergillus fumigatus and metabolic shifts, such as glyoxylate cycle upregulation in Candida albicans. Ecologically, it highlights fungal responses to abiotic stressors, including osmolyte production like trehalose, enhancing survival in extreme environments. These insights highlight metabolomics' role in decoding fungal persistence and niche colonization. In drug discovery, it aids target identification by profiling biosynthetic pathways, supporting novel antifungal and nanostructured therapy development. Combined with multi-omics, metabolomics advances insights into fungal pathogenesis, ecological interactions, and therapeutic innovation, offering translational potential for addressing antifungal resistance and improving treatment outcomes for fungal infections. Its progress shed light on complex fungal molecular profiles, advancing discovery and innovation in fungal biology.
代谢组学是分析小分子代谢物的关键工具，它与基因组学、转录组学和蛋白质组学相结合，以提供对真菌生物学的系统层面理解。通过绘制代谢网络，它阐明了驱动生理和生态适应的调控机制。在真菌致病过程中，代谢组学揭示了宿主与病原体的动态关系，确定了烟曲霉中如gliotoxin等毒力因子以及代谢变化，如白色念珠菌中乙醛酸循环上调。在生态学方面，它突出了真菌对非生物应激源的反应，包括海藻糖等渗透调节剂的产生，增强了在极端环境中的生存能力。这些见解凸显了代谢组学在解读真菌持久性和生态位定殖方面的作用。在药物发现中，它通过分析生物合成途径来辅助靶点识别，支持新型抗真菌药物和纳米结构疗法的开发。与多组学相结合，代谢组学推动了对真菌致病机制、生态相互作用和治疗创新的深入理解，为解决抗真菌耐药性和改善真菌感染治疗结果提供了转化潜力。其进展揭示了复杂的真菌分子图谱，推动了真菌生物学的发现和创新。
