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Li Y, Guo Z, Liu X, Xu L, Zhu W, Cheng Y, Longland AC, Theodorou MK. Bioaugmentation protocols involving Methanobrevibacter thaueri and Pecoramyces ruminantium for investigating lignocellulose degradation and methane production from alfalfa stalks. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2024; 408:131172. [PMID: 39079572 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.131172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2024] [Revised: 07/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
Two protocols involving batch cultures were used to investigate the bioaugmentation of methane production by Pecoramyces ruminantium, and Methanobrevibacter thaueri. Protocol I examined the effect of altering the proportion of the microbial constituents in inoculum on alfalfa stalk fermentations and showed a 25 % improvement in dry matter loss in cultures where the inoculum contained just 30 % of co-culture and 70 % of fungal monoculture. Protocol II involved consecutive cultures and alternating inoculations. This protocol resulted in 17-22 mL/g DM methane production with co-cultures a 30 % increase in methane relative to the fungal monoculture. Both protocols indicate that the co-culture rapidly dominated and was more resilient than the monoculture. Synergistic interaction between fungus and methanogen, promoted more efficient lignocellulose degradation and higher methane yield. This study highlighted the potential of microbial co-cultures for enhancing methane production from lignocellulosic biomass, offering a promising bioaugmentation strategy for improving biogas yields and waste valorization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi Li
- Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Ziqi Guo
- Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Xin Liu
- Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Li Xu
- Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Weiyun Zhu
- Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Yanfen Cheng
- Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, National Center for International Research on Animal Gut Nutrition, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
| | | | - Michael K Theodorou
- Department of Agriculture and Environment, Harper Adams University, Newport TF10 8NB, UK
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Lankiewicz TS, Choudhary H, Gao Y, Amer B, Lillington SP, Leggieri PA, Brown JL, Swift CL, Lipzen A, Na H, Amirebrahimi M, Theodorou MK, Baidoo EEK, Barry K, Grigoriev IV, Timokhin VI, Gladden J, Singh S, Mortimer JC, Ralph J, Simmons BA, Singer SW, O'Malley MA. Lignin deconstruction by anaerobic fungi. Nat Microbiol 2023; 8:596-610. [PMID: 36894634 PMCID: PMC10066034 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01336-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Lignocellulose forms plant cell walls, and its three constituent polymers, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, represent the largest renewable organic carbon pool in the terrestrial biosphere. Insights into biological lignocellulose deconstruction inform understandings of global carbon sequestration dynamics and provide inspiration for biotechnologies seeking to address the current climate crisis by producing renewable chemicals from plant biomass. Organisms in diverse environments disassemble lignocellulose, and carbohydrate degradation processes are well defined, but biological lignin deconstruction is described only in aerobic systems. It is currently unclear whether anaerobic lignin deconstruction is impossible because of biochemical constraints or, alternatively, has not yet been measured. We applied whole cell-wall nuclear magnetic resonance, gel-permeation chromatography and transcriptome sequencing to interrogate the apparent paradox that anaerobic fungi (Neocallimastigomycetes), well-documented lignocellulose degradation specialists, are unable to modify lignin. We find that Neocallimastigomycetes anaerobically break chemical bonds in grass and hardwood lignins, and we further associate upregulated gene products with the observed lignocellulose deconstruction. These findings alter perceptions of lignin deconstruction by anaerobes and provide opportunities to advance decarbonization biotechnologies that depend on depolymerizing lignocellulose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas S Lankiewicz
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
| | - Hemant Choudhary
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Department of Biomaterials and Biomanufacturing, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Yu Gao
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Bashar Amer
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
| | - Stephen P Lillington
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Patrick A Leggieri
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer L Brown
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Candice L Swift
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Anna Lipzen
- Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Hyunsoo Na
- Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Mojgan Amirebrahimi
- Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Michael K Theodorou
- Department of Agriculture and Environment, Harper Adams University, Newport, UK
| | - Edward E K Baidoo
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Kerrie Barry
- Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Igor V Grigoriev
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - John Gladden
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Department of Biomaterials and Biomanufacturing, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Seema Singh
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Department of Biomaterials and Biomanufacturing, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Jenny C Mortimer
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia
| | - John Ralph
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Blake A Simmons
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Steven W Singer
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Michelle A O'Malley
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA.
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Wunderlich G, Bull M, Ross T, Rose M, Chapman B. Understanding the microbial fibre degrading communities & processes in the equine gut. Anim Microbiome 2023; 5:3. [PMID: 36635784 PMCID: PMC9837927 DOI: 10.1186/s42523-022-00224-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The equine gastrointestinal tract is a self-sufficient fermentation system, housing a complex microbial consortium that acts synergistically and independently to break down complex lignocellulolytic material that enters the equine gut. Despite being strict herbivores, equids such as horses and zebras lack the diversity of enzymes needed to completely break down plant tissue, instead relying on their resident microbes to carry out fibrolysis to yield vital energy sources such as short chain fatty acids. The bulk of equine digestion occurs in the large intestine, where digesta is fermented for 36-48 h through the synergistic activities of bacteria, fungi, and methanogenic archaea. Anaerobic gut dwelling bacteria and fungi break down complex plant polysaccharides through combined mechanical and enzymatic strategies, and notably possess some of the greatest diversity and repertoire of carbohydrate active enzymes among characterized microbes. In addition to the production of enzymes, some equid-isolated anaerobic fungi and bacteria have been shown to possess cellulosomes, powerful multi-enzyme complexes that further enhance break down. The activities of both anaerobic fungi and bacteria are further facilitated by facultatively aerobic yeasts and methanogenic archaea, who maintain an optimal environment for fibrolytic organisms, ultimately leading to increased fibrolytic microbial counts and heightened enzymatic activity. The unique interactions within the equine gut as well as the novel species and powerful mechanisms employed by these microbes makes the equine gut a valuable ecosystem to study fibrolytic functions within complex communities. This review outlines the primary taxa involved in fibre break down within the equine gut and further illuminates the enzymatic strategies and metabolic pathways used by these microbes. We discuss current methods used in analysing fibrolytic functions in complex microbial communities and propose a shift towards the development of functional assays to deepen our understanding of this unique ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Wunderlich
- grid.1009.80000 0004 1936 826XTasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia ,Quantal Bioscience Pty Ltd, Castle Hill, Australia
| | - Michelle Bull
- grid.1009.80000 0004 1936 826XTasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia ,Quantal Bioscience Pty Ltd, Castle Hill, Australia
| | - Tom Ross
- grid.1009.80000 0004 1936 826XTasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
| | - Michael Rose
- grid.1009.80000 0004 1936 826XTasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
| | - Belinda Chapman
- grid.1009.80000 0004 1936 826XTasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia ,Quantal Bioscience Pty Ltd, Castle Hill, Australia
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Enzyme Discovery in Anaerobic Fungi (Neocallimastigomycetes) Enables Lignocellulosic Biorefinery Innovation. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2022; 86:e0004122. [PMID: 35852448 PMCID: PMC9769567 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00041-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Lignocellulosic biorefineries require innovative solutions to realize their full potential, and the discovery of novel lignocellulose-active enzymes could improve biorefinery deconstruction processes. Enzymatic deconstruction of plant cell walls is challenging, as noncarbohydrate linkages in hemicellulosic sidechains and lignin protect labile carbohydrates from hydrolysis. Highly specialized microbes that degrade plant biomass are attractive sources of enzymes for improving lignocellulose deconstruction, and the anaerobic gut fungi (Neocallimastigomycetes) stand out as having great potential for harboring novel lignocellulose-active enzymes. We discuss the known aspects of Neocallimastigomycetes lignocellulose deconstruction, including their extensive carbohydrate-active enzyme content, proficiency at deconstructing complex lignocellulose, unique physiology, synergistic enzyme complexes, and sizeable uncharacterized gene content. Progress describing Neocallimastigomycetes and their enzymes has been rapid in recent years, and it will only continue to expand. In particular, direct manipulation of anaerobic fungal genomes, effective heterologous expression of anaerobic fungal enzymes, and the ability to directly relate chemical changes in lignocellulose to fungal gene regulation will accelerate the discovery and subsequent deployment of Neocallimastigomycetes lignocellulose-active enzymes.
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Case NT, Berman J, Blehert DS, Cramer RA, Cuomo C, Currie CR, Ene IV, Fisher MC, Fritz-Laylin LK, Gerstein AC, Glass NL, Gow NAR, Gurr SJ, Hittinger CT, Hohl TM, Iliev ID, James TY, Jin H, Klein BS, Kronstad JW, Lorch JM, McGovern V, Mitchell AP, Segre JA, Shapiro RS, Sheppard DC, Sil A, Stajich JE, Stukenbrock EE, Taylor JW, Thompson D, Wright GD, Heitman J, Cowen LE. The future of fungi: threats and opportunities. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2022; 12:jkac224. [PMID: 36179219 PMCID: PMC9635647 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkac224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The fungal kingdom represents an extraordinary diversity of organisms with profound impacts across animal, plant, and ecosystem health. Fungi simultaneously support life, by forming beneficial symbioses with plants and producing life-saving medicines, and bring death, by causing devastating diseases in humans, plants, and animals. With climate change, increased antimicrobial resistance, global trade, environmental degradation, and novel viruses altering the impact of fungi on health and disease, developing new approaches is now more crucial than ever to combat the threats posed by fungi and to harness their extraordinary potential for applications in human health, food supply, and environmental remediation. To address this aim, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund convened a workshop to unite leading experts on fungal biology from academia and industry to strategize innovative solutions to global challenges and fungal threats. This report provides recommendations to accelerate fungal research and highlights the major research advances and ideas discussed at the meeting pertaining to 5 major topics: (1) Connections between fungi and climate change and ways to avert climate catastrophe; (2) Fungal threats to humans and ways to mitigate them; (3) Fungal threats to agriculture and food security and approaches to ensure a robust global food supply; (4) Fungal threats to animals and approaches to avoid species collapse and extinction; and (5) Opportunities presented by the fungal kingdom, including novel medicines and enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola T Case
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Judith Berman
- Shmunis School of Biomedical and Cancer Research, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - David S Blehert
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
| | - Robert A Cramer
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Christina Cuomo
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Cameron R Currie
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Iuliana V Ene
- Department of Mycology, Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, Paris 75015, France
| | - Matthew C Fisher
- MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Imperial College, London W2 1PG, UK
| | | | - Aleeza C Gerstein
- Department of Microbiology and Department of Statistics, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - N Louise Glass
- Plant and Microbial Biology Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Neil A R Gow
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Sarah J Gurr
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Chris Todd Hittinger
- Laboratory of Genetics, Center for Genomic Science Innovation, J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53726, USA
| | - Tobias M Hohl
- Infectious Disease Service, Department of Medicine, and Immunology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Iliyan D Iliev
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Timothy Y James
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Hailing Jin
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California—Riverside, Riverside, CA 92507, USA
| | - Bruce S Klein
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - James W Kronstad
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jeffrey M Lorch
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
| | | | - Aaron P Mitchell
- Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Julia A Segre
- Microbial Genomics Section, Translational and Functional Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Rebecca S Shapiro
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Donald C Sheppard
- McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunology, Departments of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Anita Sil
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
| | - Jason E Stajich
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California—Riverside, Riverside, CA 92507, USA
| | - Eva E Stukenbrock
- Max Planck Fellow Group Environmental Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön 24306, Germany
- Environmental Genomics, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel 24118, Germany
| | - John W Taylor
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California—Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Gerard D Wright
- M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8N 3Z5, Canada
| | - Joseph Heitman
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Medicine, and Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Leah E Cowen
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
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