Project 1 (Year 2022): Can Coccidioides immitis (C. immitis) reclaim farmland that was used for intensive agriculture?

 

The housing boom and ongoing construction for renewable energy in the endemic area of C. immitis, are major drivers of the observed increase in Valley fever incidence since the late 1990’s. Another driving force of increased incidence might emerge: abandoned agricultural fields. As a keratinophile, Coccidioides is less competitive in soils that were converted to industrial farmland. In recent years, many farmers have abandoned their land because of the ongoing drought, leading to an increase in abandoned farmland. If Coccidioides can reclaim these lands, health hazards for the general public will emerge and should be addressed by Public Health.

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Project 2 (Year 2024): How does the extensive use of fungicides in industrial agriculture has shaped resistance to azole drugs among environmental fungi, including C. immitis, in the Southern San Joaquin Valley in California?

 

Intensive and non-sustainable agriculture is dependent on the use of fungicides which have a similar molecular structure compared to azole drugs that are essential for coccidioidomycosis treatment. Fungicides, often sprayed using planes, lead to dispersal to non-agricultural areas, where they affect the natural soil fungal communities, among them C. immitis. These fungi might develop resistance mechanisms that allow them to also survive exposure to fungistatic azole drugs.