Chemical structure paves the way for new broad spectrum antifungals

A promising new target for antifungals has emerged: stopping the production of trehalose, a chemical cousin to table sugar that the deadly pathogenic fungi Cryptococcus, Candida, and Aspergillus need to survive in human hosts. Researchers have solved the structure of an enzyme called Tps2 that is required to synthesize the double sugar trehalose, paving the way for the development of new antifungal drugs targeting this enzyme that is critical for pathogenic fungi.