Editorial: Evolutionary adaptation in human-infecting fungi: ecological traits and pathogenicity

The kingdom of fungi comprises a wide variety of organisms, adapted to an extensive range of ecological niches, including soil saprotrophs, plant symbionts, airborne species, and macromycetes.Interestingly, pathogenic fungi often share key ecological traits that are instrumental to infection, such as osmotolerance, melanization, thermotolerance, and morphogenetic switching (Corrêa-Junior et al., 2025). These traits have evolved independently across various fungal phyla, suggesting a common selective advantage in pathogenicity. Furthermore, extensive genetic diversity and dynamic regulatory networks promote the emergence of evolutionarily adaptable fungi capable of breaching the mammalian thermal barrier, establishing infection, and persisting under antifungal interventions (Brown, 2023). pathogenic fungi have adaptive traits to cope with the ecological pressures within 35 aquatic ecosystems (Weldon, 2025). This underscores the importance of investigating fungal 36 ecology to gain a better insight into early risk assessments through continuous monitoring of 37