Deutschlandfunk reports on intestinal fungus research with comments by Bernhard Hube

05/08/2025 | by Friederike Gawlik

On May 2, 2025, Deutschlandfunk radio presented a study from the journal Science in the “Forschung aktuell” series, which showed that the intestinal fungus Fusarium foetens can have a protective effect on the liver  in a mouse model. Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hube from the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) gave an interview where he commented on the results of the research team from China. Hube is an internationally renowned expert on the yeast Candida albicans.

Fungi only make up a very small part of the gut microbiome and are therefore often neglected in research. “However, it is often forgotten that fungal cells are around 100 times larger than bacteria, which means that fungi most likely have a more significant influence on the metabolic capacities of the microbiome,” explains Hube. The substances produced by fungi could therefore influence the host organism more than previously assumed.

The study published in Science has now identified a compound from F. foetens that showed positive effects on the liver in the mouse model and slowed down the progression of liver diseases. In this context, Hube emphasizes the importance of functional studies: While genetic analyses allow conclusions to be drawn about the composition of the microbiome, it is essential to investigate the metabolites produced by fungi in order to understand the effect: “Sequencing can provide information about the diversity and composition of the microbiome, but you can’t get to the metabolites themselves.”

Even though intestinal fungi are often perceived as potential pathogens, they could – like many of their relatives in nature – live in symbiotic relationships with humans. Hube comments: “Why should it be any different in humans? And it probably is, we just haven’t studied it enough yet,” Hube continues.