Researchers have discovered that fungi's ability to transform from harmless yeast into deadly filaments depends on a metabolic circuit linking sugar breakdown to sulphur amino acid production

Penicillium has been named Microbe of the Year 2026, recognising its role in producing antibiotics that have saved millions of lives since 1928. Industrial strains now produce hundreds of thousands of times more penicillin than the original discovery, with global production reaching 50,000 tonnes annually