The distinctive regulatory roles of PrtT in the cell metabolism of Penicillium oxalicum

Aspergillus oryzae PrtR alters transcription of individual peptidase genes in response to the growth environment

Aspergillus oryzae PrtR is an ortholog of the transcription factor PrtT, which positively regulates the transcription of extracellular peptidase genes in Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigatus. To identify the genes under the control of PrtR and elucidate its regulatory mechanism in A. oryzae, prtR gene disruption mutants were generated. The control strain clearly showed a halo on media containing skim milk as the nitrogen source, whereas the ΔprtR strain formed a smaller halo. Measurement of acid peptidase activity revealed that approximately 84% of acidic endopeptidase and 86% of carboxypeptidase activities are positively regulated by PrtR. As the transcription of the prtR gene varied depending on culture conditions, especially with or without a protein substrate, it was considered that its transcription would be regulated in response to a nitrogen source. In addition, contrary to previous expectations, PrtR was found to act both in promoting and repressing the transcription of extracellular peptidase genes. The mode of regulation varied from gene to gene. Some genes were regulated in the same manner in both liquid and solid cultures, whereas others were regulated in different ways depending on the culture conditions. Furthermore, PrtR has been suggested to regulate the transcription of peptidase genes that are closely associated with other transcription factors. KEY POINTS: • Almost all peptidase genes in Aspergillus oryzae are positively regulated by PrtR • However, several genes are regulated negatively by PrtR • PrtR optimizes transcription of peptidase genes in response to culture conditions.

Analysis of the molecular basis for the non-amylolytic and non-proteolytic nature of Aspergillus vadensis CBS 113365

Aspergillus vadensis CBS 113365, a close relative of A. niger, has been suggested as a more favourable alternative for recombinant protein production as it does not acidify the culture medium and produces very low levels of extracellular proteases. The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying cause of the non-amylolytic and non-proteolytic phenotype of A. vadensis CBS 113365. Our results demonstrate that the non-functionality of the amylolytic transcription factor AmyR in A. vadensis CBS 113365 is primarily attributed to the lack of functionality of its gene's promoter sequence. In contrast, a different mechanism is likely causing the lack of PrtT activity, which is the main transcriptional regulator of protease production. The findings presented here not only expand our understanding of the genetic basis behind the distinct characteristics of A. vadensis CBS 113365, but also underscore its potential as a favourable alternative for recombinant protein production.

Regulation of nutrient utilization in filamentous fungi

Organisms must accurately sense and respond to nutrients to survive. In filamentous fungi, accurate nutrient sensing is important in the establishment of fungal colonies and in continued, rapid growth for the exploitation of environmental resources. To ensure efficient nutrient utilization, fungi have evolved a combination of activating and repressing genetic networks to tightly regulate metabolic pathways and distinguish between preferred nutrients, which require minimal energy and resources to utilize, and nonpreferred nutrients, which have more energy-intensive catabolic requirements. Genes necessary for the utilization of nonpreferred carbon sources are activated by transcription factors that respond to the presence of the specific nutrient and repressed by transcription factors that respond to the presence of preferred carbohydrates. Utilization of nonpreferred nitrogen sources generally requires two transcription factors. Pathway-specific transcription factors respond to the presence of a specific nonpreferred nitrogen source, while another transcription factor activates genes in the absence of preferred nitrogen sources. In this review, we discuss the roles of transcription factors and upstream regulatory genes that respond to preferred and nonpreferred carbon and nitrogen sources and their roles in regulating carbon and nitrogen catabolism. KEY POINTS: • Interplay of activating and repressing transcriptional networks regulates catabolism. • Nutrient-specific activating transcriptional pathways provide metabolic specificity. • Repressing regulatory systems differentiate nutrients in mixed nutrient environments.

Unlocking the magic in mycelium: Using synthetic biology to optimize filamentous fungi for biomanufacturing and sustainability

Filamentous fungi drive carbon and nutrient cycling across our global ecosystems, through its interactions with growing and decaying flora and their constituent microbiomes. The remarkable metabolic diversity, secretion ability, and fiber-like mycelial structure that have evolved in filamentous fungi have been increasingly exploited in commercial operations. The industrial potential of mycelial fermentation ranges from the discovery and bioproduction of enzymes and bioactive compounds, the decarbonization of food and material production, to environmental remediation and enhanced agricultural production. Despite its fundamental impact in ecology and biotechnology, molds and mushrooms have not, to-date, significantly intersected with synthetic biology in ways comparable to other industrial cell factories (e.g. Escherichia coli,Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Komagataella phaffii). In this review, we summarize a suite of synthetic biology and computational tools for the mining, engineering and optimization of filamentous fungi as a bioproduction chassis. A combination of methods across genetic engineering, mutagenesis, experimental evolution, and computational modeling can be used to address strain development bottlenecks in established and emerging industries. These include slow mycelium growth rate, low production yields, non-optimal growth in alternative feedstocks, and difficulties in downstream purification. In the scope of biomanufacturing, we then detail previous efforts in improving key bottlenecks by targeting protein processing and secretion pathways, hyphae morphogenesis, and transcriptional control. Bringing synthetic biology practices into the hidden world of molds and mushrooms will serve to expand the limited panel of host organisms that allow for commercially-feasible and environmentally-sustainable bioproduction of enzymes, chemicals, therapeutics, foods, and materials of the future.

Combination of genetic engineering and random mutagenesis for improving production of raw-starch-degrading enzymes in Penicillium oxalicum

BACKGROUND

Raw starch-degrading enzyme (RSDE) is applied in biorefining of starch to produce biofuels efficiently and economically. At present, RSDE is obtained via secretion by filamentous fungi such as Penicillium oxalicum. However, high production cost is a barrier to large-scale industrial application. Genetic engineering is a potentially efficient approach for improving production of RSDE. In this study, we combined genetic engineering and random mutagenesis of P. oxalicum to enhance RSDE production.

RESULTS

A total of 3619 mutated P. oxalicum colonies were isolated after six rounds of ethyl methanesulfonate and Co⁶⁰-γ-ray mutagenesis with the strain A2-13 as the parent strain. Mutant TE4-10 achieved the highest RSDE production of 218.6 ± 3.8 U/mL with raw cassava flour as substrate, a 23.2% compared with A2-13. Simultaneous deletion of transcription repressor gene PoxCxrC and overexpression of activator gene PoxAmyR in TE4-10 resulted in engineered strain GXUR001 with an RSDE yield of 252.6 U/mL, an increase of 15.6% relative to TE4-10. Comparative transcriptomics and real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR revealed that transcriptional levels of major amylase genes, including raw starch-degrading glucoamylase gene PoxGA15A, were markedly increased in GXUR001. The hydrolysis efficiency of raw flour from cassava and corn by crude RSDE of GXUR001 reached 93.0% and 100%, respectively, after 120 h and 84 h with loading of 150 g/L of corresponding substrate.

CONCLUSIONS

Combining genetic engineering and random mutagenesis efficiently enhanced production of RSDE by P. oxalicum. The RSDE-hyperproducing mutant GXUR001 was generated, and its crude RSDE could efficiently degrade raw starch. This strain has great potential for enzyme preparation and further genetic engineering.

Genetic modifications of critical regulators provide new insights into regulation modes of raw-starch-digesting enzyme expression in Penicillium

Background

Starch is a very abundant and renewable carbohydrate and an important feedstock for industrial applications. However, most starch-based products are not cost-efficient due to the high energy input needed in traditional enzymatic starch conversion processes. Raw-starch-digesting enzymes (RSDEs) from filamentous fungi have great commercial value in starch processing. However, the regulatory mechanisms associated with their production in filamentous fungi remain unknown.

Results

In this study, we reported the novel finding that cellulolytic fungus Penicillium oxalicum 114-2 has broad RSDE activity. Four regulators, including the amylase transcription activator AmyR, the catabolite repression repressor CreA, the group III G protein α subunit PGA3, and the nonhistone chromosomal protein HepA, have been found to play a crucial regulatory role in RSDE expression. Enzymatic assays revealed that RSDE production significantly increased after the overexpression of AmyR and HepA, the deletion of CreA and the dominant activation of PGA3. RT-qPCR analysis demonstrated that there is a mutual regulation mode between the four regulators, and then formed a cascade regulation mechanism that is involved in RSDE expression. Comparative transcriptomic analysis between the wild-type strain and genetically engineered strains revealed differentially expressed genes that may mediate the RSDE expression.

Conclusions

The four different types of regulators were systematically investigated and found to form a regulatory network controlling RSDE gene expression. Our results provide a new insight into the regulatory mechanism of fungal amylolytic enzyme expression and offer a theoretical basis to rationally improve the RSDE yield in the future.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13068-022-02162-6.

Building a Versatile Protein Production Platform Using Engineered Trichoderma reesei

Trichoderma reesei has an extremely high capacity for synthesizing and secreting proteins, thus exhibiting promise as an expression platform for heterologous proteins. However, T. reesei secretes large amounts of native proteins, which hinders its widespread application for heterologous protein production. Here, we designed and built a series of T. reesei chassis using an iterative gene deletion approach based on an efficient genome editing system. Donor DNAs with specially designed construct facilitated screening of positive deletion strains without ectopic insertion. Finally, marker-free T. reesei chassis with lower rates of native protein secretion and low levels of extracellular protease activity were constructed after 11 consecutive rounds of gene deletion. Higher production levels of three heterologous proteins─a bacterial xylanase XYL7, a fungal immunomodulatory protein LZ8, and the human serum albumin HSA─were achieved with these chassis using the cbh1 promoter. It is possible that diverse high-value proteins might be produced at a high yield using this engineered platform.

Profiling of chromatin accessibility identifies transcription factor binding sites across the genome of Aspergillus species

Background

The identification of open chromatin regions and transcription factor binding sites (TFBs) is an important step in understanding the regulation of gene expression in diverse species. ATAC-seq is a technique used for such purpose by providing high-resolution measurements of chromatin accessibility revealed through integration of Tn5 transposase. However, the existence of cell walls in filamentous fungi and associated difficulty in purifying nuclei have precluded the routine application of this technique, leading to a lack of experimentally determined and computationally inferred data on the identity of genome-wide cis-regulatory elements (CREs) and TFBs. In this study, we constructed an ATAC-seq platform suitable for filamentous fungi and generated ATAC-seq libraries of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae grown under a variety of conditions.

Results

We applied the ATAC-seq assay for filamentous fungi to delineate the syntenic orthologue and differentially changed chromatin accessibility regions among different Aspergillus species, during different culture conditions, and among specific TF-deleted strains. The syntenic orthologues of accessible regions were responsible for the conservative functions across Aspergillus species, while regions differentially changed between culture conditions and TFs mutants drove differential gene expression programs. Importantly, we suggest criteria to determine TFBs through the analysis of unbalanced cleavage of distinct TF-bound DNA strands by Tn5 transposase. Based on this criterion, we constructed data libraries of the in vivo genomic footprint of A. niger under distinct conditions, and generated a database of novel transcription factor binding motifs through comparison of footprints in TF-deleted strains. Furthermore, we validated the novel TFBs in vivo through an artificial synthetic minimal promoter system.

Conclusions

We characterized the chromatin accessibility regions of filamentous fungi species, and identified a complete TFBs map by ATAC-seq, which provides valuable data for future analyses of transcriptional regulation in filamentous fungi.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-021-01114-0.

Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis Identifies Critical Genes for the Production of Cellulase and Xylanase in Penicillium oxalicum

Genes involved in cellular processes undergo environment-dependent co-regulation, but the co-expression patterns of fungal cellulase and xylanase-encoding genes remain unclear. Here, we identified two novel carbon sources, methylcellulose and 2-hydroxyethyl cellulose, which efficiently induced the secretion of cellulases and xylanases in Penicillium oxalicum. Comparative transcriptomic analyses identified carbon source-specific transcriptional patterns, mainly including major cellulase and xylanase-encoding genes, genes involved in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and genes encoding transcription factors, transporters and G protein-coupled receptors. Moreover, the weighted correlation network analysis of time-course transcriptomes, generated 17 highly connected modules. Module MEivory, comprising 120 members, included major cellulase and xylanase-encoding genes, genes encoding the key regulators PoxClrB and PoxXlnR, and a cellodextrin transporter POX06051/CdtC, which were tightly correlated with the filter-paper cellulase, carboxymethylcellulase and xylanase activities in P. oxalicum. An expression kinetic analysis indicated that members in MEivory were activated integrally by carbon sources, but their expressional levels were carbon source- and/or induction duration-dependent. Three uncharacterized regulatory genes in MEivory were identified, which regulate the production of cellulases and xylanases in P. oxalicum. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms associated with the synthesis and secretion of fungal cellulases and xylanases, and a guide for P. oxalicum application in biotechnology.

The transcription factor PrtT and its target protease profiles in Aspergillus niger are negatively regulated by carbon sources

OBJECTIVE

To survey genome-scale protease profiles regulated by the Aspergillus niger transcription factor PrtT and further controlled by carbon sources.

RESULTS

The PrtT disruption mutant (delprtT) and overexpression (OEprtT) strains were successfully generated and further confirmed by phenotypic and protease activity analysis. RNA-seq analysis of WT and mutants identified 32 differentially expressed protease genes, which mostly belonged to serine-type peptidases, aspartic-type endopeptidases, aminopeptidases and carboxypeptidases. Furthermore, based on the MEME predicted motif analysis of the PrtT promoter, EMSA and phenotypic and qRT-PCR analyses confirmed that the carbon metabolism regulator AmyR directly regulated the protease genes and their regulatory factor PrtT.

CONCLUSION

Thirty-two PrtT-regulated protease genes were identified by RNA-seq, and the secondary carbon source regulator AmyR was found to have a negative regulatory effect on the expression of PrtT and its target protease genes.

Functional and Pharmacological Analyses of the Role of Penicillium digitatum Proteases on Virulence

Penicillium digitatum is the major postharvest pathogen of citrus fruit under Mediterranean climate conditions. Previous results have shown that proteases is the largest enzyme family induced by P. digitatum during fruit infection. In the present work, we addressed the study of the role of P. digitatum's proteases in virulence following two complementary approaches. In the first approach, we undertook the functional characterization of the P. digitatum prtT gene, which codes for a putative transcription factor previously shown to regulate extracellular proteases in other filamentous fungi. Deletion of prtT caused a significant loss in secreted protease activity during in vitro growth assays. However, there was no effect on virulence. Gene expression of the two major secreted acid proteases was barely affected in the ΔprtT deletant during infection of citrus fruit. Hence, no conclusion could be drawn on the role of these secreted acidic proteases on the virulence of P. digitatum. In the second approach, we studied the effect of different protease inhibitors and chelators on virulence. Co-inoculation of citrus fruit with P. digitatum conidia and a cocktail of protease inhibitors resulted in almost a complete absence of disease development. Analysis of individual inhibitors revealed that the metalloprotease inhibitor, 1,10-phenanthroline, was responsible for the observed effect. The application of metal ions reverted the protective effect caused by the metallopeptidase inhibitor. These results may set the basis for the development of new alternative treatments to combat this important postharvest pathogen.

Identification of an essential regulator controlling the production of raw-starch-digesting glucoamylase in Penicillium oxalicum

BACKGROUND

Raw-starch-digesting glucoamylases (RSDGs) from filamentous fungi have great commercial values in starch processing; however, the regulatory mechanisms associated with their production in filamentous fungi remain unknown. Penicillium oxalicum HP7-1 isolated by our laboratory secretes RSDG with suitable properties but at low production levels. Here, we screened and identified novel regulators of RSDG gene expression in P. oxalicum through transcriptional profiling and genetic analyses.

RESULTS

Penicillium oxalicum HP7-1 transcriptomes in the presence of glucose and starch, respectively, used as the sole carbon source were comparatively analyzed, resulting in screening of 23 candidate genes regulating the expression of RSDG genes. Following deletion of 15 of the candidate genes in the parental P. oxalicum strain ∆PoxKu70, enzymatic assays revealed five mutants exhibiting significant reduction in the production of raw-starch-digesting enzymes (RSDEs). The deleted genes (POX01907, POX03446, POX06509, POX07078, and POX09752), were the first report to regulate RSDE production of P. oxalicum. Further analysis revealed that ∆POX01907 lost the most RSDE production (83.4%), and that POX01907 regulated the expression of major amylase genes, including the RSDG gene POX01356/PoxGA15A, a glucoamylase gene POX02412, and the α-amylase gene POX09352/Amy13A, during the late-stage growth of P. oxalicum.

CONCLUSION

Our results revealed a novel essential regulatory gene POX01907 encoding a transcription factor in controlling the production of RSDE, regulating the expression of an important RSDG gene POX01356/PoxGA15A, in P. oxalicum. These results provide insight into the regulatory mechanism of fungal amylolytic enzyme production.

Differential transcriptomic profiling of filamentous fungus during solid-state and submerged fermentation and identification of an essential regulatory gene PoxMBF1 that directly regulated cellulase and xylanase gene expression

BACKGROUND

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) mimics the natural decay environment of soil fungi and can be employed to investigate the production of plant biomass-degrading enzymes. However, knowledge on the transcriptional regulation of fungal genes during SSF remains limited. Herein, transcriptional profiling was performed on the filamentous fungus Penicillium oxalicum strain HP7-1 cultivated in medium containing wheat bran plus rice straw (WR) under SSF (WR_SSF) and submerged fermentation (WR_SmF; control) conditions. Novel key transcription factors (TFs) regulating fungal cellulase and xylanase gene expression during SSF were identified via comparative transcriptomic and genetic analyses.

RESULTS

Expression of major cellulase genes was higher under WR_SSF condition than that under WR_SmF, but the expression of genes involved in the citric acid cycle was repressed under WR_SSF condition. Fifty-six candidate regulatory genes for cellulase production were screened out from transcriptomic profiling of P. oxalicum HP7-1 for knockout experiments in the parental strain ∆PoxKu70, resulting in 43 deletion mutants including 18 constructed in the previous studies. Enzyme activity assays revealed 14 novel regulatory genes involved in cellulase production in P. oxalicum during SSF. Remarkably, deletion of the essential regulatory gene PoxMBF1, encoding Multiprotein Bridging Factor 1, resulted in doubled cellulase and xylanase production at 2 days after induction during both SSF and SmF. PoxMBF1 dynamically and differentially regulated transcription of a subset of cellulase and xylanase genes during SSF and SmF, and conferred stress resistance. Importantly, PoxMBF1 bound specifically to the putative promoters of major cellulase and xylanase genes in vitro.

CONCLUSIONS

We revealed differential transcriptional regulation of P. oxalicum during SSF and SmF, and identified PoxMBF1, a novel TF that directly regulates cellulase and xylanase gene expression during SSF and SmF. These findings expand our understanding of regulatory mechanisms of cellulase and xylanase gene expression during fungal fermentation.

Transcription Factor NsdD Regulates the Expression of Genes Involved in Plant Biomass-Degrading Enzymes, Conidiation, and Pigment Biosynthesis in Penicillium oxalicum

Soil fungi produce a wide range of chemical compounds and enzymes with potential for applications in medicine and biotechnology. Cellular processes in soil fungi are highly dependent on the regulation under environmentally induced stress, but most of the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Previous work identified a key GATA-type transcription factor, Penicillium oxalicum NsdD (PoxNsdD; also called POX08415), that regulates the expression of cellulase and xylanase genes in P. oxalicum PoxNsdD shares 57 to 64% identity with the key activator NsdD, involved in asexual development in Aspergillus In the present study, the regulatory roles of PoxNsdD in P. oxalicum were further explored. Comparative transcriptomic profiling revealed that PoxNsdD regulates major genes involved in starch, cellulose, and hemicellulose degradation, as well as conidiation and pigment biosynthesis. Subsequent experiments confirmed that a ΔPoxNsdD strain lost 43.9 to 78.8% of starch-digesting enzyme activity when grown on soluble corn starch, and it produced 54.9 to 146.0% more conidia than the ΔPoxKu70 parental strain. During cultivation, ΔPoxNsdD cultures changed color, from pale orange to brick red, while the ΔPoxKu70 cultures remained bluish white. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR showed that PoxNsdD dynamically regulated the expression of a glucoamylase gene (POX01356/Amy15A), an α-amylase gene (POX09352/Amy13A), and a regulatory gene (POX03890/amyR), as well as a polyketide synthase gene (POX01430/alb1/wA) for yellow pigment biosynthesis and a conidiation-regulated gene (POX06534/brlA). Moreover, in vitro binding experiments showed that PoxNsdD bound the promoter regions of the above-described genes. This work provides novel insights into the regulatory mechanisms of fungal cellular processes and may assist in genetic engineering of Poxalicum for potential industrial and medical applications.IMPORTANCE Most filamentous fungi produce a vast number of extracellular enzymes that are used commercially for biorefineries of plant biomass to produce biofuels and value-added chemicals, which might promote the transition to a more environmentally friendly economy. The expression of these extracellular enzyme genes is tightly controlled at the transcriptional level, which limits their yields. Hitherto our understanding of the regulation of expression of plant biomass-degrading enzyme genes in filamentous fungi has been rather limited. In the present study, regulatory roles of a key regulator, PoxNsdD, were further explored in the soil fungus Penicillium oxalicum, contributing to the understanding of gene regulation in filamentous fungi and revealing the biotechnological potential of Poxalicum via genetic engineering.

A novel transcription factor specifically regulates GH11 xylanase genes in Trichoderma reesei

BACKGROUND

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is widely utilized in industry for cellulase production, but its xylanase activity must be improved to enhance the accessibility of lignocellulose to cellulases. Several transcription factors play important roles in this progress; however, nearly all the reported transcription factors typically target both cellulase and hemi-cellulase genes. Specific xylanase transcription factor would be useful to regulate xylanase activity directly.

RESULTS

In this study, a novel zinc binuclear cluster transcription factor (jgi|Trire2|123881) was found to repress xylanase activity, but not cellulase activity, and was designated as SxlR (specialized xylanase regulator). Further investigations using real-time PCR and an electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated that SxlR might bind the promoters of GH11 xylanase genes (xyn1, xyn2, and xyn5), but not those of GH10 (xyn3) and GH30 (xyn4) xylanase genes, and thus regulate their transcription and expression directly. We also identified the binding consensus sequence of SxlR as 5'- CATCSGSWCWMSA-3'. The deletion of SxlR in T. reesei RUT-C30 to generate the mutant ∆sxlr strain resulted in higher xylanase activity as well as higher hydrolytic efficiency on pretreated rice straw.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study characterizes a novel specific transcriptional repressor of GH11 xylanase genes, which adds to our understanding of the regulatory system for the synthesis and secretion of cellulase and hemi-cellulase in T. reesei. The deletion of SxlR may also help to improve the hydrolytic efficiency of T. reesei for lignocellulose degradation by increasing the xylanase-to-cellulase ratio.

Regulators of plant biomass degradation in ascomycetous fungi

Fungi play a major role in the global carbon cycle because of their ability to utilize plant biomass (polysaccharides, proteins, and lignin) as carbon source. Due to the complexity and heterogenic composition of plant biomass, fungi need to produce a broad range of degrading enzymes, matching the composition of (part of) the prevalent substrate. This process is dependent on a network of regulators that not only control the extracellular enzymes that degrade the biomass, but also the metabolic pathways needed to metabolize the resulting monomers. This review will summarize the current knowledge on regulation of plant biomass utilization in fungi and compare the differences between fungal species, focusing in particular on the presence or absence of the regulators involved in this process.

RNA Sequencing Reveals Xyr1 as a Transcription Factor Regulating Gene Expression beyond Carbohydrate Metabolism

Xyr1 has been demonstrated to be the main transcription activator of (hemi)cellulases in the well-known cellulase producer Trichoderma reesei. This study comprehensively investigates the genes regulated by Xyr1 through RNA sequencing to produce the transcription profiles of T. reesei Rut-C30 and its xyr1 deletion mutant (Δxyr1), cultured on lignocellulose or glucose. xyr1 deletion resulted in 467 differentially expressed genes on inducing medium. Almost all functional genes involved in (hemi)cellulose degradation and many transporters belonging to the sugar porter family in the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) were downregulated in Δxyr1. By contrast, all differentially expressed protease, lipase, chitinase, some ATP-binding cassette transporters, and heat shock protein-encoding genes were upregulated in Δxyr1. When cultured on glucose, a total of 281 genes were expressed differentially in Δxyr1, most of which were involved in energy, solute transport, lipid, amino acid, and monosaccharide as well as secondary metabolism. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays confirmed that the intracellular β-glucosidase bgl2, the putative nonenzymatic cellulose-attacking gene cip1, the MFS lactose transporter lp, the nmrA-like gene, endo T, the acid protease pepA, and the small heat shock protein hsp23 were probable Xyr1-targets. These results might help elucidate the regulation system for synthesis and secretion of (hemi)cellulases in T. reesei Rut-C30.

Basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain transcription factor MBZ1 regulates cell wall integrity, spore adherence, and virulence in Metarhizium robertsii

Transcription factors (TFs) containing the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain are widely distributed in eukaryotes and display an array of distinct functions. In this study, a bZIP-type TF gene (MBZ1) was deleted and functionally characterized in the insect pathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii. The deletion mutant (ΔMBZ1) showed defects in cell wall integrity, adhesion to hydrophobic surfaces, and topical infection of insects. Relative to the WT, ΔMBZ1 was also impaired in growth and conidiogenesis. Examination of putative target gene expression indicated that the genes involved in chitin biosynthesis were differentially transcribed in ΔMBZ1 compared with the WT, which led to the accumulation of a higher level of chitin in mutant cell walls. MBZ1 exhibited negative regulation of subtilisin proteases, but positive control of an adhesin gene, which is consistent with the observation of effects on cell autolysis and a reduction in spore adherence to hydrophobic surfaces in ΔMBZ1. Promoter binding assays indicated that MBZ1 can bind to different target genes and suggested the possibility of heterodimer formation to increase the diversity of the MBZ1 regulatory network. The results of this study advance our understanding of the divergence of bZIP-type TFs at both intra- and interspecific levels.

A genomic survey of proteases in Aspergilli

BACKGROUND

Proteases can hydrolyze peptides in aqueous environments. This property has made proteases the most important industrial enzymes by taking up about 60% of the total enzyme market. Microorganisms are the main sources for industrial protease production due to their high yield and a wide range of biochemical properties. Several Aspergilli have the ability to produce a variety of proteases, but no comprehensive comparative study has been carried out on protease productivity in this genus so far.

RESULTS

We have performed a combined analysis of comparative genomics, proteomics and enzymology tests on seven Aspergillus species grown on wheat bran and sugar beet pulp. Putative proteases were identified by homology search and Pfam domains. These genes were then clusters based on orthology and extracellular proteases were identified by protein subcellular localization prediction. Proteomics was used to identify the secreted enzymes in the cultures, while protease essays with and without inhibitors were performed to determine the overall protease activity per protease class. All this data was then integrated to compare the protease productivities in Aspergilli.

CONCLUSIONS

Genomes of Aspergillus species contain a similar proportion of protease encoding genes. According to comparative genomics, proteomics and enzymatic experiments serine proteases make up the largest group in the protease spectrum across the species. In general wheat bran gives higher induction of proteases than sugar beet pulp. Interesting differences of protease activity, extracellular enzyme spectrum composition, protein occurrence and abundance were identified for species. By combining in silico and wet-lab experiments, we present the intriguing variety of protease productivity in Aspergilli.