Pathogenic fungi colonise microplastics in soils

Representatives of numerous pathogenic fungal species find new habitats on microplastic particles in the soil and could thus be one of the possible causes of an increase in fungal infections. This is what researchers including BayCEER member Gerhard Rambold (Mycology) and his PhD student Gerasimos Gkoutselis have found out in a new study published in the journal "Scientific Reports". In this study, communities of fungal microorganisms on microplastic particles in the soil were investigated for the first time. Fungal communities were analysed in soil samples from a populated area in western Kenya and pathogenic microfungi (groups of fungi that are pathogenic for plants, animals and humans) were detected.