Fungal microbiota, diversity and role in human health

Mathias Richard is an agricultural engineer who graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse. He began his scientific career with a thesis defended in 2001 at AgroParisTech on Candida albicans, a fungal pathogen that affects humans.

After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University in New York, he joined INRAE in 2003 as a research fellow to study the pathogenicity factors of C. albicans. Then, in 2014, he broadened his research focus to include the study of all fungi in the microbiota at the MICALIS joint research unit (INRAE - AgroParisTech-Université Paris-Saclay) as Director of Research.

Since then, he has continued his work on fungal microbiota, its influence on human health and the major role of diet in its diversity.

Presentation summary: Today, the non-bacterial part of the microbiota (Archaea, viruses, or fungi) is often poorly described, even though fungi in particular have been shown to play a key role in intestinal homeostasis, intestinal inflammation, certain types of cancer, and respiratory allergies. However, this intestinal fungal microbiota is largely influenced by diet, with diversity coming mainly from the foods we eat: bread, cheese, fermented products, etc. In addition, it has recently been shown that the fungal microbiota also has a strong influence on the bacterial microbiota and vice versa, making the description of the fungal microbiota even more relevant in explaining the balance of this ecosystem as a whole.

In his presentation, Mathias will address these various points using bibliographical data and results from his work within the team.