Sex in broad daylight: turning a new leaf-fungal style.

Cryptococcus spp. are potentially lethal fungal pathogens of humans and animals that are not easily communicable. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Xue et al. describe sexual reproduction of Cryptococcus in association with plants and identify plant-derived mating stimulatory compounds. These results may have wide significance in explaining environmental sources of effective inoculum in human disease foci.