The Human Mycobiome in Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Current Situation and Future Perspectives

Microbes play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, and asthma. While the role of bacterial pathogens has been extensively studied, the contribution of fungal species to the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases is much less understood. The recent introduction of next-generation sequencing techniques has revealed the existence of complex microbial lung communities in healthy individuals and patients with chronic respiratory disorders, with fungi being an important part of these communities’ structure (mycobiome). There is growing evidence that the components of the lung mycobiome influence the clinical course of chronic respiratory diseases, not only by direct pathogenesis but also by interacting with bacterial species and with the host’s physiology. In this article, we review the current knowledge on the role of fungi in chronic respiratory diseases, which was obtained by conventional culture and next-generation sequencing, highlighting the limitations of both techniques and exploring future research areas.