2012/08/16 by Arturo Casadevall · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Bat Biology and Ecology Studies #Evolution and Paleontology Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1002808
openalex publication_date 2012/08/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Here are two indisputable facts: we are living in the age of mammals [1], and immunologically intact mammals are highly resistant to fungal diseases, such that most human systemic fungal are considered ‘‘opportunistic’’ [2]. Could these two facts be connected? The mammalian lifestyle is characterized by endothermy, homeothermy, and care for the young, including nourishment via lactation, all of which are energetically costly activities. In contrast, reptiles, which are ectotherms, require about one-tenth of the daily mammalian energy needs [3], and reptilian development is faster and requires less parental involvement. Given this energy handicap, how did mammals replace reptiles as the dominant land animals? This essay further develops the hypothesis originally proposed seven years ago that fungi contributed to the emergence of mammals by creating a fungal filter at the end of the Cretaceous that selected for the mammalian lifestyle and against reptiles [4].