Neta Shlezinger
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shlezingerlab.bsky.social
Neta Shlezinger
@shlezingerlab.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of all things fungi, from their nifty viruses to their inevitable demise 🍄 @NSfungiLab @HUJIAgri
Pinned
🚨 Fungi + viruses + mammalian lungs? Buckle up! Our new paper in
@natmicrobiol.nature.com
uncovers the story of a deadly fungus and its gnarly viral hitchhiker — and how this duo may change how we diagnose & treat fungal disease 🍄🫁🚨 doi.org/10.1038/s415... ⬇️
Aspergillus fumigatus dsRNA virus promotes fungal fitness and pathogenicity in the mammalian host - Nature Microbiology
A mycovirus infecting the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus enhances its stress tolerance and virulence in mice.
doi.org
Our study on a mycovirus that boosts fungal virulence is now out — and beautifully covered in this Behind the Paper piece by Amariliz Rivera

Huge thanks for capturing the heart of the story so thoughtfully. @natmicrobiol.nature.com rdcu.be/eB9yg
Mycoviruses steer fungal fitness
Nature Microbiology - A mycovirus drives the fitness of the lung-infecting fungus Aspergillus fumigatus under stress, helping it to survive within immune cells, and thus shaping its pathogenesis.
rdcu.be
August 24, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Neta Shlezinger
VERY INTERESTING

AfuPmV-1M, a dsRNA mycovirus in 𝘼𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙨, boosts fungal stress tolerance, melanin, virulence

In vivo, antiviral (ribavirin) treatment cut viral load and improved mouse survival—mycoviruses are hidden “backseat drivers” of fungal disease

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
August 22, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Reposted by Neta Shlezinger
I thought the Aspergillus fumigatus pan-genome was pretty wild when we started this project.

Aspergillus flavus said, "hold my beer..." Not only does it have a strong population structure with differences between environmental and clinical strains, only 58%of genes are conserved across the species!
August 22, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Neta Shlezinger
Such a great story! A pathogen within a pathogen 🤯. Made me think of all Totiviridea family that infect protozoan parasites including Trichomonas vaginalis and Giardia lamblia. Always wondered if Tryps have these too and whether the pathology is partly due to a hidden bug.
🚨 Fungi + viruses + mammalian lungs? Buckle up! Our new paper in
@natmicrobiol.nature.com
uncovers the story of a deadly fungus and its gnarly viral hitchhiker — and how this duo may change how we diagnose & treat fungal disease 🍄🫁🚨 doi.org/10.1038/s415... ⬇️
Aspergillus fumigatus dsRNA virus promotes fungal fitness and pathogenicity in the mammalian host - Nature Microbiology
A mycovirus infecting the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus enhances its stress tolerance and virulence in mice.
doi.org
August 16, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Reposted by Neta Shlezinger
4 years ago I was honored to host the legendary Elio Schaechter in the microbiology journal club, when he was only 93 yo...
Elio told us about very peculiar microbes that travel 1 mm/sec, reside inside mitochondria, ride a microbial bus...He named my kids who also joined "micro microbiologists"
RIP
August 15, 2025 at 4:54 PM
🚨 Fungi + viruses + mammalian lungs? Buckle up! Our new paper in
@natmicrobiol.nature.com
uncovers the story of a deadly fungus and its gnarly viral hitchhiker — and how this duo may change how we diagnose & treat fungal disease 🍄🫁🚨 doi.org/10.1038/s415... ⬇️
Aspergillus fumigatus dsRNA virus promotes fungal fitness and pathogenicity in the mammalian host - Nature Microbiology
A mycovirus infecting the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus enhances its stress tolerance and virulence in mice.
doi.org
August 14, 2025 at 9:46 AM