India has registered a global first of a plant fungus infecting humans; climate change, AMR will exacerbate it

Source: The post is based on the article “India has registered a global first of a plant fungus infecting humans; climate change, AMR will exacerbate it” published in The Hindu on 2nd April 2023

What is the News?

The first case of a plant fungus called Chondrostereum purpureum infecting human beings has been reported from Kolkata. 

What is Chondrostereum purpureum?

Chondrostereum purpureum is a Plant Fungus.It is known to cause Silver leaf disease in plants, especially in species of rose families.

The fungus easily grows on dead or dying wood, but when it latches on to healthy living plants, it eventually kills them, turning the leaves silver in the process.

This was the first time a human has been infected with Chondrostereum purpureum.

Concern: Of the hundreds of millions of fungal species, only a few cause infections in humans.This may be the start of a new phenomenon when plant fungus is adapting to invade human cells by evading the process of ‘phagocytosis’. 

Note: Phagocytosis means ‘cell eating’.It happens when a cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle giving rise to an internal compartment called the ‘phagosome’.Organisms clean and defend themselves by this process.

What is the reason for a plant fungus infecting human beings?

Rising temperature due to global warming is thought of as one of the major reasons for this new threat to human beings. 

Most fungi thrive in the range of 12°C to 30°C.However, many species are thermotolerant and can withstand high temperatures.