Genetic diversity in Rhizopus oryzae strains as revealed by the sequence of lactate dehydrogenase genes

High-throughput screening carbon and nitrogen sources to promote growth and sporulation in Rhizopus arrhizus

Rhizopus arrhizus is a saprotrophic, sometimes clinically- and industrially-relevant mold (Mucorales) and distributed worldwide, suggesting it can assimilate a broad spectrum of substrates. Here, 69 strains of R. arrhizus were investigated by using the Biolog FF MicroPlate for the profiles of utilizing 95 carbon and nitrogen substrates. The study showed that most R. arrhizus strains were similar in average well color development (AWCD) and substrate richness (SR). Nevertheless, 13 strains were unique in principal component analyses, heatmap, AWCD, and SR analyses, which may imply a niche differentiation within R. arrhizus. The species R. arrhizus was able to utilize all the 95 carbon and nitrogen substrates, consistent with the hypothesis of a great metabolic diversity. It possessed a substrate preference of alcohols, and seven substrates were most frequently utilized, with N-acetyl-D-galactosamine and L-phenylalanine ranking at the top of the list. Eight substrates, especially L-arabinose and xylitol, were capable of promoting sporulation and being applied for rejuvenating degenerated strains. By phenotyping R. arrhizus strains in carbon and nitrogen assimilation capacity, this study revealed the extent of intra-specific variability and laid a foundation for estimating optimum substrates that may be useful for industrial applications.

Updates on the Taxonomy of Mucorales with an Emphasis on Clinically Important Taxa

Fungi of the order Mucorales colonize all kinds of wet, organic materials and represent a permanent part of the human environment. They are economically important as fermenting agents of soybean products and producers of enzymes, but also as plant parasites and spoilage organisms. Several taxa cause life-threatening infections, predominantly in patients with impaired immunity. The order Mucorales has now been assigned to the phylum Mucoromycota and is comprised of 261 species in 55 genera. Of these accepted species, 38 have been reported to cause infections in humans, as a clinical entity known as mucormycosis. Due to molecular phylogenetic studies, the taxonomy of the order has changed widely during the last years. Characteristics such as homothallism, the shape of the suspensors, or the formation of sporangiola are shown to be not taxonomically relevant. Several genera including Absidia, Backusella, Circinella, Mucor, and Rhizomucor have been amended and their revisions are summarized in this review. Medically important species that have been affected by recent changes include Lichtheimia corymbifera, Mucor circinelloides, and Rhizopus microsporus. The species concept of Rhizopus arrhizus (syn. R. oryzae) is still a matter of debate. Currently, species identification of the Mucorales is best performed by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Ecologically, the Mucorales represent a diverse group but for the majority of taxa, the ecological role and the geographic distribution remain unknown. Understanding the biology of these opportunistic fungal pathogens is a prerequisite for the prevention of infections, and, consequently, studies on the ecology of the Mucorales are urgently needed.

Deletion of JEN1 and ADY2 reduces lactic acid yield from an engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in xylose medium, expressing a heterologous lactate dehydrogenase

Microorganisms have evolved to produce specific end products for many reasons, including maintaining redox balance between NAD+ and NADH. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for example, produces ethanol as a primary end product from glucose for the regeneration of NAD+. Engineered S. cerevisiae strains have been developed to ferment lignocellulosic sugars, such as xylose, to produce lactic acid by expression of a heterologous lactate dehydrogenase (ldhA from Rhizopus oryzae) without genetic perturbation to the native ethanol pathway. Surprisingly, the engineered yeast strains predominantly produce ethanol from glucose, but produce lactic acid as the major product from xylose. Here, we provide initial evidence that the shift in product formation from ethanol to lactic acid during xylose fermentation is at least partially dependent on the presence of functioning monocarboxylate transporter genes/proteins, including JEN1 and ADY2, which are downregulated and unstable in the presence of glucose, but upregulated/stable on xylose. Future yeast metabolic engineering studies may find the feedstock/carbon selection, such as xylose, an important step toward improving the yield of target end products.

Phylogenetic and Phylogenomic Definition of Rhizopus Species

Phylogenomic approaches have the potential to improve confidence about the inter-relationships of species in the order Mucorales within the fungal tree of life. Rhizopus species are especially important as plant and animal pathogens and bioindustrial fermenters for food and metabolite production. A dataset of 192 orthologous genes was used to construct a phylogenetic tree of 21 Rhizopus strains, classified into four species isolated from habitats of industrial, medical and environmental importance. The phylogeny indicates that the genus Rhizopus consists of three major clades, with R. microsporus as the basal species and the sister lineage to R. stolonifer and two closely related species R. arrhizus and R. delemar A comparative analysis of the mating type locus across Rhizopus reveals that its structure is flexible even between different species in the same genus, but shows similarities between Rhizopus and other mucoralean fungi. The topology of single-gene phylogenies built for two genes involved in mating is similar to the phylogenomic tree. Comparison of the total length of the genome assemblies showed that genome size varies by as much as threefold within a species and is driven by changes in transposable element copy numbers and genome duplications.

Zygomycetes-based biorefinery: present status and future prospects

Fungi of the phylum Zygomycetes fulfil all requirements for being utilized as core catalysts in biorefineries, and would be useful in creating new sustainable products. Apart from the extended use of Zygomycetes in preparing fermented foods, industrial metabolites such as lactic acid, fumaric acid, and ethanol are produced from a vast array of feedstocks with the aid of Zygomycetes. These fungi produce enzymes that facilitate their assimilation of various complex substrates, e.g., starch, cellulose, phytic acid, and proteins, which is relevant from an industrial point of view. The enzymes produced are capable of catalyzing various reactions involved in biodiesel production, preparation of corticosteroid drugs, etc. Biomass produced with the aid of Zygomycetes consists of proteins with superior amino acid composition, but also lipids and chitosan. The biomass is presently being tested for animal feed purposes, such as fish feed, as well as for lipid extraction and chitosan production. Complete or partial employment of Zygomycetes in biorefining procedures is consequently attractive, and is expected to be implemented within a near future.

Metabolic engineering of Rhizopus oryzae: effects of overexpressing pyc and pepc genes on fumaric acid biosynthesis from glucose

Fumaric acid, a dicarboxylic acid used as a food acidulant and in manufacturing synthetic resins, can be produced from glucose in fermentation by Rhizopus oryzae. However, the fumaric acid yield is limited by the co-production of ethanol and other byproducts. To increase fumaric acid production, overexpressing endogenous pyruvate carboxylase (PYC) and exogenous phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) to increase the carbon flux toward oxaloacetate were investigated. Compared to the wild type, the PYC activity in the pyc transformants increased 56%-83%, whereas pepc transformants exhibited significant PEPC activity (3-6 mU/mg) that was absent in the wild type. Fumaric acid production by the pepc transformant increased 26% (0.78 g/g glucose vs. 0.62 g/g for the wild type). However, the pyc transformants grew poorly and had low fumaric acid yields (<0.05 g/g glucose) due to the formation of large cell pellets that limited oxygen supply and resulted in the accumulation of ethanol with a high yield of 0.13-0.36 g/g glucose. This study is the first attempt to use metabolic engineering to modify the fumaric acid biosynthesis pathway to increase fumaric acid production in R. oryzae.

Metabolic engineering of Rhizopus oryzae for the production of platform chemicals

Rhizopus oryzae is a filamentous fungus belonging to the Zygomycetes. It is among others known for its ability to produce the sustainable platform chemicals L: -(+)-lactic acid, fumaric acid, and ethanol. During glycolysis, all fermentable carbon sources are metabolized to pyruvate and subsequently distributed over the pathways leading to the formation of these products. These platform chemicals are produced in high yields on a wide range of carbon sources. The yields are in excess of 85 % of the theoretical yield for L: -(+)-lactic acid and ethanol and over 65 % for fumaric acid. The study and optimization of the metabolic pathways involved in the production of these compounds requires well-developed metabolic engineering tools and knowledge of the genetic makeup of this organism. This review focuses on the current metabolic engineering techniques available for R. oryzae and their application on the metabolic pathways of the main fermentation products.

Structure, function, and phylogeny of the mating locus in the Rhizopus oryzae complex

The Rhizopus oryzae species complex is a group of zygomycete fungi that are common, cosmopolitan saprotrophs. Some strains are used beneficially for production of Asian fermented foods but they can also act as opportunistic human pathogens. Although R. oryzae reportedly has a heterothallic (+/-) mating system, most strains have not been observed to undergo sexual reproduction and the genetic structure of its mating locus has not been characterized. Here we report on the mating behavior and genetic structure of the mating locus for 54 isolates of the R. oryzae complex. All 54 strains have a mating locus similar in overall organization to Phycomyces blakesleeanus and Mucor circinelloides (Mucoromycotina, Zygomycota). In all of these fungi, the minus (-) allele features the SexM high mobility group (HMG) gene flanked by an RNA helicase gene and a TP transporter gene (TPT). Within the R. oryzae complex, the plus (+) mating allele includes an inserted region that codes for a BTB/POZ domain gene and the SexP HMG gene. Phylogenetic analyses of multiple genes, including the mating loci (HMG, TPT, RNA helicase), ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA, RPB2, and LDH genes, identified two distinct groups of strains. These correspond to previously described sibling species R. oryzae sensu stricto and R. delemar. Within each species, discordant gene phylogenies among multiple loci suggest an outcrossing population structure. The hypothesis of random-mating is also supported by a 50:50 ratio of plus and minus mating types in both cryptic species. When crossed with tester strains of the opposite mating type, most isolates of R. delemar failed to produce zygospores, while isolates of R. oryzae produced sterile zygospores. In spite of the reluctance of most strains to mate in vitro, the conserved sex locus structure and evidence for outcrossing suggest that a normal sexual cycle occurs in both species.

Molecular tools for identification of Zygomycetes and the diagnosis of zygomycosis

The identification of Zygomycetes and diagnosis of zygomycosis are notoriously difficult. However, there have been recent advances, particularly in the availability and evaluation of new molecular approaches. Two main issues are of importance: the identification to species level of a strain isolated in culture, and the identification of a zygomycete in tissues. By using several molecular targets and by increasing the number of available DNA sequences in international databases, several studies have shown that accurate molecular identification of Zygomycetes to species level is feasible. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region may be used as a first-line molecular target for the identification of Zygomycetes in pure culture. However, cultures from infected tissues are often negative and the different Zygomycetes share similar morphology according to histopathology. Furthermore, differentiation of a zygomycete from another hyalohyphomycete can sometimes be difficult in histopathology. Thus, alternative methods for the diagnosis of zygomycosis and for species identification directly from tissues are needed. For this purpose, molecular methods have been recently evaluated, both on unfixed fresh/frozen material and on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsies. This review discusses the molecular approaches currently available for the identification of Zygomycetes and the diagnosis of zygomycosis.

Application of DNA bar codes for screening of industrially important fungi: the haplotype of Trichoderma harzianum sensu stricto indicates superior chitinase formation

Selection of suitable strains for biotechnological purposes is frequently a random process supported by high-throughput methods. Using chitinase production by Hypocrea lixii/Trichoderma harzianum as a model, we tested whether fungal strains with superior enzyme formation may be diagnosed by DNA bar codes. We analyzed sequences of two phylogenetic marker loci, internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) and ITS2 of the rRNA-encoding gene cluster and the large intron of the elongation factor 1-alpha gene, tef1, from 50 isolates of H. lixii/T. harzianum, which were also tested to determine their ability to produce chitinases in solid-state fermentation (SSF). Statistically supported superior chitinase production was obtained for strains carrying one of the observed ITS1 and ITS2 and tef1 alleles corresponding to an allele of T. harzianum type strain CBS 226.95. A tef1-based DNA bar code tool, TrichoCHIT, for rapid identification of these strains was developed. The geographic origin of the strains was irrelevant for chitinase production. The improved chitinase production by strains containing this haplotype was not due to better growth on N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosamine or glucosamine. Isoenzyme electrophoresis showed that neither the isoenzyme profile of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidases or the endochitinases nor the intensity of staining of individual chitinase bands correlated with total chitinase in the culture filtrate. The superior chitinase producers did not exhibit similarly increased cellulase formation. Biolog Phenotype MicroArray analysis identified lack of N-acetyl-beta-D-mannosamine utilization as a specific trait of strains with the chitinase-overproducing haplotype. This observation was used to develop a plate screening assay for rapid microbiological identification of the strains. The data illustrate that desired industrial properties may be an attribute of certain populations within a species, and screening procedures should thus include a balanced mixture of all genotypes of a given species.

Native and modified lactate dehydrogenase expression in a fumaric acid producing isolate Rhizopus oryzae 99-880

Rhizopus oryzae is subdivided into two groups based on genetic and phenotypic differences. Type-I isolates accumulate primarily lactic acid when grown in the presence of a fermentable carbon source and contain two lactate dehydrogenase genes, ldhA and ldhB. Type-II isolates synthesize predominantly fumaric acid and only have an ldhB gene. In this study, we determined that ldhB transcript is only minimally expressed in the Type-II isolate R. oryzae 99-880. LdhB enzyme purified from gene clones isolated from the Type-I isolate R. oryzae NRRL 395 and the Type-II isolate R. oryzae 99-880 each showed reductive LDH activity (pyruvate to lactate), while no oxidative LDH activity (lactate to pyruvate) was detected in either preparation. A transformation system was then developed for the first time with R. oryzae 99-880, using a uracil auxotrophic isolate that could be complemented with an orotate phosphoribosyltransferase gene, pyrF, isolated in this study. Transformation of this Type-II isolate with the ldhA gene from R. oryzae NRRL 395 resulted in reductive LDH activity between 1.0 and 1.8 U/mg total protein. Additionally, transformed isolates grown with glucose accumulated up to 27 g lactic acid/l with a concurrent decrease in fumaric acid, ethanol, and glycerol compared with the untransformed and vector-transformed control strains.

Isolation and Characterization of Two Genes That Encode Active Glucoamylase Without a Starch Binding Domain from Rhizopus oryzae

Glucoamylase obtained from Rhizopus sp. is frequently preferred for certain applications of starch modification or saccharification. The predominant enzyme, which contains a starch-binding domain on the amino terminus, has been previously characterized from several species. Additionally, the cDNA encoding this protein was cloned and found to show 100% identity to a R. oryzae strain 99-880 that has recently been sequenced by the Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Analysis of this genome indicates coding regions for two additional glucoamylase genes, amyC and amyD, lacking a starch-binding domain. The two genes encode proteins that are approximately 50% identical to the catalytic region of the AmyA protein and 67% identical to each other. The predicted AmyC and AmyD proteins contain the highly conserved signature sequences of Family 15 glycoside hydrolases. The two genes appear to be transcriptionally expressed in cultures grown in fermentable and gluconeogenic carbon sources. The predicted 49.7-kD AmyC and 48.8-kD AmyD proteins were expressed in several different ways using Pichia pastoris. When the sequence for putative secretion signal was left intact, glucoamylase activity was detected in the crude cell extracts, but no activity was present in the growth medium. However, replacement of this region with the yeast alpha-secretion signal resulted in secretion of active glucoamylase that was able to degrade soluble starch.