Topic: Gut Mycobiome and Metabolic Health

The gut mycobiome—the diverse community of fungi residing in the digestive tract—is rapidly emerging as an important and influential frontier in metabolic health research. Long overshadowed by bacterial studies, fungal populations are now increasingly recognized for their substantial roles in shaping immune responses, regulating energy balance, and interacting closely with other microbial species. Emerging evidence reveals that even subtle changes in fungal diversity can be linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, fatty liver disease, and chronic inflammation. Through their bioactive metabolites, cell wall components, and cross-kingdom interactions, gut fungi contribute to a dynamic ecological network that can either maintain metabolic homeostasis or promote metabolic dysfunction.

This Special Issue highlights groundbreaking work unraveling these complex fungal–host relationships. Incorporating multi-omics analyses, innovative experimental models, and clinical investigations, the featured studies illuminate how diet, environmental exposures, and microbial interactions shape the gut mycobiome and, ultimately, influence metabolic outcomes. Collectively, these contributions not only advance our scientific understanding of fungal contributions to metabolic health but also point toward promising diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic strategies. By placing the gut mycobiome in sharper focus, this issue encourages researchers to explore a rapidly evolving dimension of metabolic science. 

Gut mycobiome, metabolic health, fungal microbiota, fungal metabolites, immune modulation, mycobiome resilience, gut–fungi–bacteria interactions, multi-omics, metabolic inflammation, host–microbe interactions