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Simulated Microgravity Created Using a Random Positioning Machine Induces Changes in the Physiology of the Fusarium solani Species Complex. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10112270. [DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10112270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Fusarium is a phytopathogenic fungus involved in human pathology and is present in space stations. It is essential to understand the effects of microgravity on the physiology of this fungus to determine the potential risks to the health of crew members and to propose the necessary countermeasures. This study aimed to determine changes in the physiological parameters of the Fusarium solani species complex under simulated microgravity generated using a random positioning machine (RPM) and phenotypic approaches. We observed increased growth, spore production, and germination while biofilm production was reduced under RPM exposure. These in vitro data show the importance of further studying this fungus as it has been repeatedly demonstrated that microgravity weakens the immune system of astronauts.
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Tesei D, Chiang AJ, Kalkum M, Stajich JE, Mohan GBM, Sterflinger K, Venkateswaran K. Effects of Simulated Microgravity on the Proteome and Secretome of the Polyextremotolerant Black Fungus Knufia chersonesos. Front Genet 2021; 12:638708. [PMID: 33815472 PMCID: PMC8012687 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.638708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Black fungi are a group of melanotic microfungi characterized by remarkable polyextremotolerance. Due to a broad ecological plasticity and adaptations at the cellular level, it is predicted that they may survive in a variety of extreme environments, including harsh niches on Earth and Mars, and in outer space. However, the molecular mechanisms aiding survival, especially in space, are yet to be fully elucidated. Based on these premises, the rock-inhabiting black fungus Knufia chersonesos (Wt) and its non-melanized mutant (Mut) were exposed to simulated microgravity-one of the prevalent features characterizing space conditions-by growing the cultures in high-aspect-ratio vessels (HARVs). Qualitative and quantitative proteomic analyses were performed on the mycelia and supernatant of culture medium (secretome) to assess alterations in cell physiology in response to low-shear simulated microgravity (LSSMG) and to ultimately evaluate the role of cell-wall melanization in stress survival. Differential expression was observed for proteins involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolic processes, transport, and ribosome biogenesis and translation via ribosomal translational machinery. However, no evidence of significant activation of stress components or starvation response was detected, except for the scytalone dehydratase, enzyme involved in the synthesis of dihydroxynaphthalene (DNH) melanin, which was found to be upregulated in the secretome of the wild type and downregulated in the mutant. Differences in protein modulation were observed between K. chersonesos Wt and Mut, with several proteins being downregulated under LSSMG in the Mut when compared to the Wt. Lastly, no major morphological alterations were observed following exposure to LSSMG. Similarly, the strains' survivability was not negatively affected. This study is the first to characterize the response to simulated microgravity in black fungi, which might have implications on future astrobiological missions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donatella Tesei
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Abby J. Chiang
- Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA, United States
| | - Markus Kalkum
- Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA, United States
| | - Jason E. Stajich
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Ganesh Babu Malli Mohan
- Department of Biotechnology, Centre for Research and Infectious Diseases, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur, India
| | - Katja Sterflinger
- Institute for Natural Sciences and Technology in the Arts, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kasthuri Venkateswaran
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
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Sakamoto Y. Influences of environmental factors on fruiting body induction, development and maturation in mushroom-forming fungi. FUNGAL BIOL REV 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fbr.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Sheet S, Sathishkumar Y, Sivakumar AS, Shim KS, Lee YS. Low-shear-modeled microgravity-grown Penicillium chrysogenum-mediated biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles with enhanced antimicrobial activity and its anticancer effect in human liver cancer and fibroblast cells. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 2017; 40:1529-1542. [PMID: 28710569 DOI: 10.1007/s00449-017-1809-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2017] [Accepted: 06/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Gravitational force and shear forces induce various changes in gene expression and metabolite production of microorganisms. Previous reports have shown that there are differences in the expression of different sets of proteins and enzymes under microgravity conditions compared to normal gravity. The aim of this study is to utilize culture filtrates of Penicillium chrysogenum grown under microgravity and normal conditions to synthesize silver nanoparticles and to examine whether there is any difference between their physiochemical and biological function. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, and TEM. Biological functional studies such as antimicrobial activity, cytotoxic studies, and anticancer activity were carried out. Antimicrobial activity was tested using antibiotic susceptibility testing by Kirby-Bauer method and cytotoxicity tests were carried out using 3T3-L1 normal fibroblasts cells and Hep-G2 cancer cell lines. Interestingly, our results indicated that microgravity-synthesized silver nanoparticles possess enhanced antibacterial activity and cytotoxic effect against cancer cells compared to normal gravity-synthesized silver nanoparticle. This work highlighted the importance of gravitational vector on the fungal enzyme profiles and their role in silver nanoparticle synthesis with enhanced biological activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunirmal Sheet
- Department of Forest Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Yesupatham Sathishkumar
- Department of Forest Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daehak-ro, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Allur Subramaniyam Sivakumar
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Kwan Seob Shim
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Yang Soo Lee
- Department of Forest Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea.
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Sathishkumar Y, Krishnaraj C, Rajagopal K, Sen D, Lee YS. High throughput de novo RNA sequencing elucidates novel responses in Penicillium chrysogenum under microgravity. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 2015; 39:223-31. [PMID: 26603994 DOI: 10.1007/s00449-015-1506-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2015] [Accepted: 11/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
In this study, the transcriptional alterations in Penicillium chrysogenum under simulated microgravity conditions were analyzed for the first time using an RNA-Seq method. The increasing plethora of eukaryotic microbial flora inside the spaceship demands the basic understanding of fungal biology in the absence of gravity vector. Penicillium species are second most dominant fungal contaminant in International Space Station. Penicillium chrysogenum an industrially important organism also has the potential to emerge as an opportunistic pathogen for the astronauts during the long-term space missions. But till date, the cellular mechanisms underlying the survival and adaptation of Penicillium chrysogenum to microgravity conditions are not clearly elucidated. A reference genome for Penicillium chrysogenum is not yet available in the NCBI database. Hence, we performed comparative de novo transcriptome analysis of Penicillium chrysogenum grown under microgravity versus normal gravity. In addition, the changes due to microgravity are documented at the molecular level. Increased response to the environmental stimulus, changes in the cell wall component ABC transporter/MFS transporters are noteworthy. Interestingly, sustained increase in the expression of Acyl-coenzyme A: isopenicillin N acyltransferase (Acyltransferase) under microgravity revealed the significance of gravity in the penicillin production which could be exploited industrially.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yesupatham Sathishkumar
- Department of Forest Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756, Republic of Korea.
| | - Chandran Krishnaraj
- Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Dwaipayan Sen
- School of Biosciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore, 632014, India
- Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics Laboratory, Centre for Biomaterials, Cellular and Molecular Theranostics, School of Biosciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore, 632014, India
| | - Yang Soo Lee
- Department of Forest Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756, Republic of Korea.
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Pazzagli L, Seidl-Seiboth V, Barsottini M, Vargas WA, Scala A, Mukherjee PK. Cerato-platanins: elicitors and effectors. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2014; 228:79-87. [PMID: 25438788 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2014.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2013] [Revised: 02/20/2014] [Accepted: 02/22/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Cerato-platanins are an interesting group of small, secreted, cysteine-rich proteins that have been implicated in virulence of certain plant pathogenic fungi. The relatively recent discovery of these proteins in plant beneficial fungi like Trichoderma spp., and their positive role in induction of defense in plants against invading pathogens has raised the question as to whether these proteins are effectors or elicitor molecules. Here we present a comprehensive review on the occurrence of these conserved proteins across the fungal kingdom, their structure-function relationships, and their physiological roles in plant pathogenic and symbiotic fungi. We also discuss the usefulness of these proteins in evolving strategies for crop protection through a transgenic approach or direct application as elicitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigia Pazzagli
- Department of Biomedical Experimental and Clinical Sciences, University of Florence, Morgagni Street, 50134 Florence, Italy
| | - Verena Seidl-Seiboth
- Biotechnology and Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Gumpendorfer Strasse 1a, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Mario Barsottini
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Bioagents/IB, State University of Campinas, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, 13083-970, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Walter A Vargas
- Centro de EstudiosFotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI)-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, Rosario 2000, Argentina
| | - Aniello Scala
- Department of Production Sciences Agri-Food and the Environment (DISPAA), University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Prasun K Mukherjee
- Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India.
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Gomoiu I, Chatzitheodoridis E, Vadrucci S, Walther I. The effect of spaceflight on growth of Ulocladium chartarum colonies on the international space station. PLoS One 2013; 8:e62130. [PMID: 23637980 PMCID: PMC3634740 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2012] [Accepted: 03/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The objectives of this 14 days experiment were to investigate the effect of spaceflight on the growth of Ulocladium chartarum, to study the viability of the aerial and submerged mycelium and to put in evidence changes at the cellular level. U. chartarum was chosen for the spaceflight experiment because it is well known to be involved in biodeterioration of organic and inorganic substrates covered with organic deposits and expected to be a possible contaminant in Spaceships. Colonies grown on the International Space Station (ISS) and on Earth were analysed post-flight. This study clearly indicates that U. chartarum is able to grow under spaceflight conditions developing, as a response, a complex colony morphotype never mentioned previously. We observed that spaceflight reduced the rate of growth of aerial mycelium, but stimulated the growth of submerged mycelium and of new microcolonies. In Spaceships and Space Stations U. chartarum and other fungal species could find a favourable environment to grow invasively unnoticed in the depth of surfaces containing very small amount of substrate, posing a risk factor for biodegradation of structural components, as well as a direct threat for crew health. The colony growth cycle of U. chartarum provides a useful eukaryotic system for the study of fungal growth under spaceflight conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioana Gomoiu
- Institute of Biology Bucharest, Romanian Academy of Science, Bucharest, Romania.
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Yamazaki T, Yoshimoto M, Nishiyama Y, Okubo Y, Makimura K. Phenotypic characterization of Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans grown under simulated microgravity using a three-dimensional clinostat. Microbiol Immunol 2012; 56:441-6. [PMID: 22537211 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.2012.00471.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The living and working environments of spacecraft become progressively contaminated by a number of microorganisms. A large number of microorganisms, including pathogenic microorganisms, some of which are fungi, have been found in the cabins of space stations. However, it is not known how the characteristics of microorganisms change in the space environment. To predict how a microgravity environment might affect fungi, and thus how their characteristics could change on board spacecraft, strains of the pathogenic fungi Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans were subjected to on-ground tests in a simulated microgravity environment produced by a three-dimensional (3D) clinostat. These fungi were incubated and cultured in a 3D clinostat in a simulated microgravity environment. No positive or negative differences in morphology, asexual reproductive capability, or susceptibility to antifungal agents were observed in cultures grown under simulated microgravity compared to those grown in normal earth gravity (1 G). These results strongly suggest that a microgravity environment, such as that on board spacecraft, allows growth of potentially pathogenic fungi that can contaminate the living environment for astronauts in spacecraft in the same way as they contaminate residential areas on earth. They also suggest that these organisms pose a similar risk of opportunistic infections or allergies in astronauts as they do in people with compromised immunity on the ground and that treatment of fungal infections in space could be the same as on earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Yamazaki
- Laboratory of Space and Environmental Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan
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Isolation and analysis of differentially expressed genes during asexual sporulation in liquid static culture of Ganoderma lucidum by suppression subtractive hybridization. Mol Biol Rep 2011; 39:3603-10. [DOI: 10.1007/s11033-011-1134-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2010] [Accepted: 06/24/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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