The Dynamic Fungal Genome: Polyploidy, Aneuploidy and Copy Number Variation in Response to Stress

Abstract

Fungal species have dynamic genomes and often exhibit genomic plasticity in response to stress. This genome plasticity often comes with phenotypic consequences that affect fitness and resistance to stress. Fungal pathogens exhibit genome plasticity in both clinical and agricultural settings and often during adaptation to antifungal drugs, posing significant challenges to human health. Therefore, it is important to understand the rates, mechanisms, and impact of large genomic changes. This review addresses the prevalence of polyploidy, aneuploidy, and copy number variation across diverse fungal species, with special attention to prominent fungal pathogens and model species. We also explore the relationship between environmental stress and rates of genomic changes and highlight the mechanisms underlying genotypic and phenotypic changes. A comprehensive understanding of these dynamic fungal genomes is needed to identify novel solutions for the increase in antifungal drug resistance.