Non-triazole agricultural fungicides indirectly select for triazole resistance in the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus.

Low concentrations of non-DMI fungicides in grass mesocosms increased the proportions of triazole-resistant alleles in the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus, with environmental samples showing >20% phenotypic triazole resistance.

• Why it matters: Agricultural fungicides persist and can affect organisms beyond crops, but it is unclear whether non-triazole chemicals can indirectly enrich clinical triazole resistance.
• What they did: In grass mesocosms, competing Aspergillus fumigatus isolates were exposed to low, residue-comparable concentrations of DMI, SDHI, and QoI fungicides, and allele proportions were measured; environmental samples from heaps with only non-DMI fungicides were also tested.
• The result: Non-DMI exposure independently increased triazole-resistant allele proportions, and the field data (>20% phenotypic triazole resistance) support parallel enrichment, implying linked resistance alleles can hitchhike.

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