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Azoles deplete ergosterol, which results in killing of the pathogen cell.

Together, the teams uncovered the mechanism of the drug: AmB kills fungi by acting like a sponge to extract ergosterol from fungal cells.

Fungi like yeast “could make new ergosterol faster than we could remove it,” Burke says.

Other eukaryotes—organisms with complex cells—produce their own sterols, including stigmasterol in plants and ergosterol in fungi.

Further experiments revealed the pathogens were releasing less of a molecule called ergosterol, which made them visible to the ants.