Large-scale genome re-annotation uncovers pathogen-specific lncRNA regulators of fungal growth and virulence.

Pathogen-specific lncRNAs SSP7 and SSP8 are essential for fungal growth and virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus, revealing a novel regulatory mechanism.

• Why it matters: Understanding regulators of fungal pathogenicity is critical because only a small fraction of fungi cause severe disease, and these elements often lack recognizable homologs, hindering functional studies.
• What they did: The study used transcriptome-guided re-annotation and functional screening on 423 loci, reclassifying 176 as non-coding, and identified two lncRNAs, SSP7 and SSP8, required for hyphal growth and virulence in a murine model.
• The result: SSP7 promotes mitochondrial function by binding pprA mRNA and enhancing translation, while SSP8 maintains amino acid homeostasis, demonstrating pathogen-specific lncRNAs can modulate conserved processes to influence fungal pathogenic traits.