Future-proofing agriculture: Scientists “revive” ancient fungi to unlock crop resilience

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, have revived 80-year-old fungal pathogens from museum archives to offer new insight into how industrial agriculture has transformed plant pathogens over the past century.

The findings can be used to develop crop protection strategies and more sustainable farming practices, particularly in the face of climate change, declining soil health, and overdependence on agrochemicals.

The scientists “reanimated” the fungal strains and analyzed them using whole-genome sequencing, transcriptomics (gene expression profiling), and metabolomics (chemical fingerprinting).

They then studied two strains of Botrytis cinerea, a fungus responsible for gray mold disease in over 200 crops, leading to “billions of dollars in annual losses” and challenges to food security, trade, and environmental health.

“These fungi have been quietly evolving in response to everything we’ve done in agriculture over the past 80 years,” note the researchers. “By comparing ancient and modern strains, we can measure the biological cost of human intervention — and learn how to do better.”

The older fungi showed reduced fungicide resistance, were less specialized and aggressive, and adapted differently to environmental conditions such as pH and host range.

Botrytis fabae on its host leaves, the Vicia, collected in 1943 in Ankara, Turkey (Image credit: Dagan Sade).The study, published in iScience, was led by Dr. Dagan Sade under the supervision of professor Gila Kahila of the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, in collaboration with the Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Israel.

Advancing crop protection

The researchers emphasize that natural history collections, once seen as static archives, are now vital scientific tools. “They allow us to ‘rewind’ microbial evolution and anticipate future trends in plant disease.”

The study contributes to global efforts to predict and manage plant disease outbreaks. Researchers can better model future risks and design resilient crop protection strategies by revealing how pathogens adapted to previous environmental shifts.

The team notes that this can reduce reliance on chemical treatments that harm ecosystems and accelerate resistance.

Exploring interdisciplinary methods

The scientists underscore that the study exemplifies how the past and future can intersect through science. “We brought something back to life, not for nostalgia, but to help build a more sustainable agricultural system.”

They expect the findings to encourage other institutions to reassess the “hidden power of their biological collections,” and push for more interdisciplinary approaches to solving global food and environmental crises.