The emergence of resistant pathogenic fungi is a major threat that affects not only human health, but also food security worldwide. There are only a very limited number of therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of fungal pathogens. Currently, the use of the same agents in both agriculture and medicine is creating a unique interconnected system favouring not only the emergence, but also the spread of resistance. This is particularly worrisome in the case of opportunistic pathogens with a wide range of hosts. Therefore, finding more sustainable approaches for dealing with fungal pathogens is a pressing need.

The main objective of this proposal is to develop an alternative approach for the fight of fungal pathogens based on the manipulation of the optimal environmental conditions for the onset of disease. To achieve this goal, during the project the aim is to generate new experimental models to test the validity of the working hypothesis and to advance on the design of a prototype for a delivery system that can be used for animals or plant pathosystems.