# Understanding innate immunity in fungi

> **NIH NIH R21** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $235,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of this exploratory work is to develop foundations for understanding innate immunity defenses in
Mucoromycotina fungi, with a particular focus on the mechanisms triggering programmed cell death (PCD).
We expect that these processes will become future targets for controlling mucormycoses, which are human
infections caused by Mucoromycotina. Mucormycoses are increasingly frequent, highly destructive, and often
fatal in immune-compromised individuals.
Some clinical isolates of Mucoromycotina harbor endosymbiotic bacteria (EB) that can be isolated and
cultivated independently. Our recent work generated insights into fungal responses to such isolated EB that
were perceived by fungi as mutualists versus antagonists. In mutualisms, bacteria enter fungal cells and
manipulate cellular processes of permissive hosts. In antagonisms, bacterial infections of non-host fungi are
blocked by fungal responses that resemble innate immunity of animals and plants. In animals and plants,
innate immunity mechanisms prevent bacterial invasions of cellular environment and suppress those invasions
by initiating PCD.
To accomplish our goal of unraveling novel mechanisms of innate immunity in Mucoromycotina, we will use
isolated EB as a tool to elicit fungal defense responses. We will test whether Mucoromycotina are able to: (i)
sense microbes, (iii) deploy defense modules that prevent bacterial entry, and (iii) when faced with bacteria
capable of breaching these primary defenses, trigger PCD to eliminates intruders. To test these hypotheses,
we will address the following specific aims: (1) determine the roles of candidate innate immunity sensors in
bacterial infection of non-host strains and (2) identify novel genes responsible for elimination of bacterial
infections, including genes that control defense and PCD modules.
In addition to their profound health impacts, Mucoromycotina present a remarkably convenient study system
for elucidating fungal-bacterial interactions in polymicrobial disorders. Expected outcomes of the project
include determination of the molecular bases of fungal innate immunity and PCD, which, in the future, could be
targeted to eradicate Mucoromycotina infections.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10218397
- **Project number:** 1R21AI153924-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Teresa E Pawlowska
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $235,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-03-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10218397

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10218397, Understanding innate immunity in fungi (1R21AI153924-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10218397. Licensed CC0.

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