Is there any kind of antibiotic effective against fungi?
Yes. The antibiotic (general microorganism “targeter”) you’re looking for is an antifungal. There are fewer ways to target fungi as opposed to bacteria, but we can target them nonetheless.

The fungal cell membrane has ergosterol to regulate its permeability whereas the mammalian cell relies on cholesterol. Fungi have cell walls which are not present in mammalian cells and are different in chemical composition to bacterial cell walls. A fungal cell wall is made of chitin whereas, as you mentioned before, a bacterial cell wall is made up of peptidoglycan. 

We rely on these differences to target fungi. Some antifungals bind to ergosterol (e.g. Polyenes like Amphotericin-B) whereas other agents inhibit ergosterol synthesis altogether (e.g. Azoles like Triazole). Other antifungal agents target the fungal cell wall by inhibiting the synthesis of chitin (e.g. Echinocandins like Caspofungin).

There are more ways to target fungi, like introducing nucleotide analogues (“look alikes” that don’t work) to disrupt their nucleic acid synthesis (e.g. Fluorocytosine 5-FC). Another method is to disrupt the fungal microtubule’s aggregation during mitosis (e.g. Griseofulvin), thus “arresting” the fungal cells in metaphase.

Recommended Textbooks:


Hugo &amp; Russell’s Pharmaceutical Microbiology 8th edition, Wiley- Blackwell. Edited by S.P. Denyer et al.
ISBN 9781444330632
Essential Microbiology for Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, Wiley- Blackwell. By Geoffrey Hanlon and Norman Hodges
ISBN 978-0-470-66534-3 (pbk.)