Into the fungal unknown: New tool maps fungal gene functions without reference genomes

While RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has become a standard tool for profiling which genes are active in an organism, determining the actual biological functions of those genes in fungi remains a significant technical challenge. Most existing software tools are designed to cover a broad range of species, often lacking the specificity required for the unique genetic landscape of fungi. Furthermore, many non-model fungal species lack the high-quality reference genomes that traditional analysis methods rely on.