Research progress on the application of azole antifungals in fungal disease control

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1004-1524.20250276

Acta Agriculturae Zhejiangensis ›› 2026, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (2): 397-404.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-1524.20250276

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Research progress on the application of azole antifungals in fungal disease control

ZUO Lizi¹^,²(), WANG Xinhe²^,³, HAO Zhongna², XIAO Chenwen⁴, WANG Jing²^,^*(), SHENTU Xuping¹, WANG Jiaoyu²

1. College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
2. State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiome of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiome of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
3. College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
4. Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China

Received:2025-04-07 Online:2026-02-25 Published:2026-03-24

Abstract

Abstract:

Fungal infections have become a major challenge threatening global public health and agricultural security. In the clinical field, invasive mycoses, particularly pulmonary aspergillosis and cryptococcal meningitis, demonstrate substantial mortality rates among immunocompromised individuals, while the continuous emergence of drug-resistant strains poses severe challenges to clinical treatment. In the agricultural field, phytopathogenic fungi including Fusarium spp., Magnaporthe oryzae, and Aspergillus spp. not only diminish agricultural productivity but also compromise food safety through mycotoxin contamination of food commodities. Azole antifungals constitute the cornerstone of fungal infection management, exhibiting broad-spectrum fungicidal activity by specifically inhibiting the key enzyme (Erg11/Cyp51) in the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway of fungal cell membranes. However, the monotropic mechanism of action coupled with widespread implementation has accelerating resistance development. The concurrent utilization of structurally similar azole compounds in both clinical and agricultural applications has facilitated interspecies transmission of resistance determinants, establishing a complex “environment-clinical resistance continuum”. This study comprehensively characterized the pathogenicity mechanisms of fungal pathogens, elucidated the pharmacological properties of azole compounds, examined their current clinical and agricultural applications, and analyzed the evolutionary patterns of resistance emergence. These findings provide scientific evidence for developing integrated mitigation strategies against this transdisciplinary challenge, with significant implications for human health preservation and sustainable agricultural systems.

Key words: fungi, azole antifungal, clinical field, agricultural field, drug resistance

CLC Number:

S482.2

ZUO Lizi, WANG Xinhe, HAO Zhongna, XIAO Chenwen, WANG Jing, SHENTU Xuping, WANG Jiaoyu. Research progress on the application of azole antifungals in fungal disease control[J]. Acta Agriculturae Zhejiangensis, 2026, 38(2): 397-404.

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Research progress on the application of azole antifungals in fungal disease control

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