Aspergilli produce conidia for reproduction or to survive hostile conditions, and they are highly effective in the distribution of conidia through the environment. In immunocompromised individuals, inhaled conidia can germinate inside the respiratory tract, which may result in invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. The management of invasive aspergillosis has become more complex, with new risk groups being identified and the emergence of antifungal resistance. Patient survival is threatened by these developments, stressing the need for alternative therapeutic strategies. As germination is crucial for infection, prevention of this process might be a feasible approach. A broader understanding of conidial germination is important to identify novel antigermination targets. In this review, we describe conidial resistance against various stresses, transition from dormant conidia to hyphal growth, the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in germination of the most common Aspergillus species, and promising antigermination targets. Germination of Aspergillus is characterized by three morphotypes: dormancy, isotropic growth, and polarized growth. Intra- and extracellular proteins play an important role in the protection against unfavorable environmental conditions. Isotropically expanding conidia remodel the cell wall, and biosynthetic machineries are needed for cellular growth. These biosynthetic machineries are also important during polarized growth, together with tip formation and the cell cycle machinery. Genes involved in isotropic and polarized growth could be effective antigermination targets. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies on specific Aspergillus morphotypes will improve our understanding of the germination process and allow discovery of novel antigermination targets and biomarkers for early diagnosis and therapy.

中文翻译：

---

曲霉孢子萌发的分子机制。

曲霉产生分生孢子以繁殖或在敌对条件下生存，它们在通过环境分布分生孢子中非常有效。在免疫力低下的人中，吸入的分生孢子可在呼吸道内萌发，这可能导致侵袭性肺曲霉病。侵袭性曲霉病的管理已变得更加复杂，新的风险人群被确定，并且抗真菌药耐药性的出现。这些事态发展威胁着患者的生存，并强调了对替代治疗策略的需求。由于发芽对于感染至关重要，因此预防此过程可能是可行的方法。对分生孢子萌发有更广泛的了解对于确定新的抗发芽目标很重要。在这篇评论中，我们描述了分生孢子对各种压力的抵抗力，从休眠分生孢子过渡到菌丝生长，涉及最常见曲霉菌种萌发的潜在分子机制，以及有希望的抗萌发目标。曲霉的发芽具有三种形态型：休眠，各向同性生长和极化生长。细胞内和细胞外蛋白在防止不利的环境条件中起着重要的作用。各向同性的分生孢子重塑细胞壁，细胞生长需要生物合成机制。这些生物合成机制在极化生长过程中，尖端形成和细胞周期机制中也很重要。参与各向同性和极化生长的基因可能是有效的抗发芽目标。