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Sveholm E, Mattila H, Aro N, Valkonen M, Paasela T, Pakula TM. Transcriptomic and metabolic changes in Trichoderma reesei caused by mutation in xylanase regulator 1 (xyr1). BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2024; 17:106. [PMID: 39030601 PMCID: PMC11265206 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-024-02556-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/21/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trichoderma reesei is known for its ability to produce large amounts of extracellular proteins and is one of the most important industrially used filamentous fungus. Xylanase regulator 1 (XYR1) is the master regulator responsible for the activation of cellulase and hemicellulase gene expression under inducing conditions. It has been reported that strains with point mutations in certain areas of xyr1 bypass the need for inducing carbon source, allowing high (hemi)cellulase production even in the presence of glucose. These mutations also change the profile of produced proteins, shifting it more towards xylanase production, and increase the overall protein production in inducing conditions. However, how these mutations alter the metabolism and other cellular processes to cause these changes remains unclear. RESULTS In this study, we aimed to explore changes caused by a point mutation in xyr1 on transcriptomic and metabolic level to better understand the reasons behind the increased protein production in both repressing glucose and inducing lactose conditions. As expected, the expression of many carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZy) genes was increased in the xyr1 mutant in both conditions. However, their induction was higher under inducing conditions. The xyr1 mutant strain built more biomass and produced more extracellular proteins during growth on lactose compared to the wild type xyr1 strain. Genes involved in oxidoreductive D-galactose catabolism pathway were upregulated in the xyr1 mutant strain, potentially contributing to the more efficient utilization of lactose. In addition to CAZy genes, clustering and enrichment analysis showed over-representation of mitochondria-related Gene Ontology terms in clusters where gene expression was higher in the xyr1 mutant, indicating that mitochondria play a role in the altered metabolic state associated with the xyr1 mutation. Metabolomics revealed that free tyrosine was more abundant in the xyr1 mutant strain in all measured timepoints, whereas multiple fatty acids were less abundant in the mutant strain on glucose. CONCLUSIONS The results contribute to more in-depth knowledge on T. reesei physiology growing under inducing and repressing carbon sources and gives new insights on the function of the master regulator XYR1. The vast data generated serve as a source for new targets for improved protein production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmi Sveholm
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, 02044, Espoo, Finland
| | - Hans Mattila
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, 02044, Espoo, Finland
| | - Nina Aro
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, 02044, Espoo, Finland
| | - Mari Valkonen
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, 02044, Espoo, Finland
| | - Tanja Paasela
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, 02044, Espoo, Finland.
| | - Tiina M Pakula
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, 02044, Espoo, Finland
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de Assis MA, da Silva JJB, de Carvalho LM, Parreiras LS, Cairo JPLF, Marone MP, Gonçalves TA, Silva DS, Dantzger M, de Figueiredo FL, Carazzolle MF, Pereira GAG, Damasio A. A Multiomics Perspective on Plant Cell Wall-Degrading Enzyme Production: Insights from the Unexploited Fungus Trichoderma erinaceum. J Fungi (Basel) 2024; 10:407. [PMID: 38921393 PMCID: PMC11205114 DOI: 10.3390/jof10060407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Trichoderma erinaceum is a filamentous fungus that was isolated from decaying sugarcane straw at a Brazilian ethanol biorefinery. This fungus shows potential as a source of plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs). In this study, we conducted a comprehensive multiomics investigation of T. erinaceum to gain insights into its enzymatic capabilities and genetic makeup. Firstly, we performed genome sequencing and assembly, which resulted in the identification of 10,942 genes in the T. erinaceum genome. We then conducted transcriptomics and secretome analyses to map the gene expression patterns and identify the enzymes produced by T. erinaceum in the presence of different substrates such as glucose, microcrystalline cellulose, pretreated sugarcane straw, and pretreated energy cane bagasse. Our analyses revealed that T. erinaceum highly expresses genes directly related to lignocellulose degradation when grown on pretreated energy cane and sugarcane substrates. Furthermore, our secretome analysis identified 35 carbohydrate-active enzymes, primarily PCWDEs. To further explore the enzymatic capabilities of T. erinaceum, we selected a β-glucosidase from the secretome data for recombinant production in a fungal strain. The recombinant enzyme demonstrated superior performance in degrading cellobiose and laminaribiose compared to a well-known enzyme derived from Trichoderma reesei. Overall, this comprehensive study provides valuable insights into both the genetic patterns of T. erinaceum and its potential for lignocellulose degradation and enzyme production. The obtained genomic data can serve as an important resource for future genetic engineering efforts aimed at optimizing enzyme production from this fungus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle A. de Assis
- Laboratory of Enzymology and Molecular Biology (LEBIMO), Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (M.A.d.A.); (J.P.L.F.C.); (T.A.G.); (F.L.d.F.)
| | - Jovanderson J. B. da Silva
- Genomics and BioEnergy Laboratory (LGE), Department of Genetics, Evolution, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (J.J.B.d.S.); (L.M.d.C.); (L.S.P.); (M.D.); (M.F.C.); (G.A.G.P.)
| | - Lucas M. de Carvalho
- Genomics and BioEnergy Laboratory (LGE), Department of Genetics, Evolution, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (J.J.B.d.S.); (L.M.d.C.); (L.S.P.); (M.D.); (M.F.C.); (G.A.G.P.)
| | - Lucas S. Parreiras
- Genomics and BioEnergy Laboratory (LGE), Department of Genetics, Evolution, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (J.J.B.d.S.); (L.M.d.C.); (L.S.P.); (M.D.); (M.F.C.); (G.A.G.P.)
| | - João Paulo L. F. Cairo
- Laboratory of Enzymology and Molecular Biology (LEBIMO), Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (M.A.d.A.); (J.P.L.F.C.); (T.A.G.); (F.L.d.F.)
- York Structural Biology Laboratory (YSBL), Department of Chemistry, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Marina P. Marone
- Genomics and BioEnergy Laboratory (LGE), Department of Genetics, Evolution, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (J.J.B.d.S.); (L.M.d.C.); (L.S.P.); (M.D.); (M.F.C.); (G.A.G.P.)
| | - Thiago A. Gonçalves
- Laboratory of Enzymology and Molecular Biology (LEBIMO), Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (M.A.d.A.); (J.P.L.F.C.); (T.A.G.); (F.L.d.F.)
| | - Desireé S. Silva
- SENAI Institute for Biomass Innovation, Três Lagoas 79640-250, Brazil;
| | - Miriam Dantzger
- Genomics and BioEnergy Laboratory (LGE), Department of Genetics, Evolution, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (J.J.B.d.S.); (L.M.d.C.); (L.S.P.); (M.D.); (M.F.C.); (G.A.G.P.)
| | - Fernanda L. de Figueiredo
- Laboratory of Enzymology and Molecular Biology (LEBIMO), Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (M.A.d.A.); (J.P.L.F.C.); (T.A.G.); (F.L.d.F.)
| | - Marcelo F. Carazzolle
- Genomics and BioEnergy Laboratory (LGE), Department of Genetics, Evolution, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (J.J.B.d.S.); (L.M.d.C.); (L.S.P.); (M.D.); (M.F.C.); (G.A.G.P.)
| | - Gonçalo A. G. Pereira
- Genomics and BioEnergy Laboratory (LGE), Department of Genetics, Evolution, Microbiology and Immunology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (J.J.B.d.S.); (L.M.d.C.); (L.S.P.); (M.D.); (M.F.C.); (G.A.G.P.)
| | - André Damasio
- Laboratory of Enzymology and Molecular Biology (LEBIMO), Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-862, São Paulo, Brazil; (M.A.d.A.); (J.P.L.F.C.); (T.A.G.); (F.L.d.F.)
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Castañeda-Casasola CC, Nieto-Jacobo MF, Soares A, Padilla-Padilla EA, Anducho-Reyes MA, Brown C, Soth S, Esquivel-Naranjo EU, Hampton J, Mendoza-Mendoza A. Unveiling a Microexon Switch: Novel Regulation of the Activities of Sugar Assimilation and Plant-Cell-Wall-Degrading Xylanases and Cellulases by Xlr2 in Trichoderma virens. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5172. [PMID: 38791210 PMCID: PMC11121469 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25105172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Functional microexons have not previously been described in filamentous fungi. Here, we describe a novel mechanism of transcriptional regulation in Trichoderma requiring the inclusion of a microexon from the Xlr2 gene. In low-glucose environments, a long mRNA including the microexon encodes a protein with a GAL4-like DNA-binding domain (Xlr2-α), whereas in high-glucose environments, a short mRNA that is produced encodes a protein lacking this DNA-binding domain (Xlr2-β). Interestingly, the protein isoforms differ in their impact on cellulase and xylanase activity. Deleting the Xlr2 gene reduced both xylanase and cellulase activity and growth on different carbon sources, such as carboxymethylcellulose, xylan, glucose, and arabinose. The overexpression of either Xlr2-α or Xlr2-β in T. virens showed that the short isoform (Xlr2-β) caused higher xylanase activity than the wild types or the long isoform (Xlr2-α). Conversely, cellulase activity did not increase when overexpressing Xlr2-β but was increased with the overexpression of Xlr2-α. This is the first report of a novel transcriptional regulation mechanism of plant-cell-wall-degrading enzyme activity in T. virens. This involves the differential expression of a microexon from a gene encoding a transcriptional regulator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia Coccet Castañeda-Casasola
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand; (C.C.C.-C.); (A.S.); (E.A.P.-P.); (S.S.); (E.U.E.-N.); (J.H.)
- Laboratorio de AgroBiotecnología, Universidad Politécnica de Pachuca, Carretera Pachuca-Cd. Sahagún, km 20, ExHacienda de Santa Bárbara, Zempoala 43830, Mexico;
- Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria, Centro Nacional de Referencia Fitosanitaria, Tecamac 55740, Mexico
| | | | - Amanda Soares
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand; (C.C.C.-C.); (A.S.); (E.A.P.-P.); (S.S.); (E.U.E.-N.); (J.H.)
| | - Emir Alejandro Padilla-Padilla
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand; (C.C.C.-C.); (A.S.); (E.A.P.-P.); (S.S.); (E.U.E.-N.); (J.H.)
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;
- Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca 04510, Mexico
| | - Miguel Angel Anducho-Reyes
- Laboratorio de AgroBiotecnología, Universidad Politécnica de Pachuca, Carretera Pachuca-Cd. Sahagún, km 20, ExHacienda de Santa Bárbara, Zempoala 43830, Mexico;
| | - Chris Brown
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;
| | - Sereyboth Soth
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand; (C.C.C.-C.); (A.S.); (E.A.P.-P.); (S.S.); (E.U.E.-N.); (J.H.)
| | - Edgardo Ulises Esquivel-Naranjo
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand; (C.C.C.-C.); (A.S.); (E.A.P.-P.); (S.S.); (E.U.E.-N.); (J.H.)
- Unit for Basic and Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro 76230, Mexico
| | - John Hampton
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand; (C.C.C.-C.); (A.S.); (E.A.P.-P.); (S.S.); (E.U.E.-N.); (J.H.)
| | - Artemio Mendoza-Mendoza
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand; (C.C.C.-C.); (A.S.); (E.A.P.-P.); (S.S.); (E.U.E.-N.); (J.H.)
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Sharma G, Kaur B, Singh V, Raheja Y, Falco MD, Tsang A, Chadha BS. Genome and secretome insights: unravelling the lignocellulolytic potential of Myceliophthora verrucosa for enhanced hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. Arch Microbiol 2024; 206:236. [PMID: 38676717 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-024-03974-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
Lignocellulolytic enzymes from a novel Myceliophthora verrucosa (5DR) strain was found to potentiate the efficacy of benchmark cellulase during saccharification of acid/alkali treated bagasse by ~ 2.24 fold, indicating it to be an important source of auxiliary enzymes. The De-novo sequencing and analysis of M. verrucosa genome (31.7 Mb) revealed to encode for 7989 putative genes, representing a wide array of CAZymes (366) with a high proportions of auxiliary activity (AA) genes (76). The LC/MS QTOF based secretome analysis of M. verrucosa showed high abundance of glycosyl hydrolases and AA proteins with cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) (AA8), being the most prominent auxiliary protein. A gene coding for lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO) was expressed in Pichia pastoris and CDH produced by M. verrucosa culture on rice straw based solidified medium were purified and characterized. The mass spectrometry of LPMO catalyzed hydrolytic products of avicel showed the release of both C1/C4 oxidized products, indicating it to be type-3. The lignocellulolytic cocktail comprising of in-house cellulase produced by Aspergillus allahabadii strain spiked with LPMO & CDH exhibited enhanced and better hydrolysis of mild alkali deacetylated (MAD) and unwashed acid pretreated rice straw slurry (UWAP), when compared to Cellic CTec3 at high substrate loading rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Sharma
- Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India
| | - Baljit Kaur
- Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India
| | - Varinder Singh
- Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India
| | - Yashika Raheja
- Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India
| | - Marcos Di Falco
- Center for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Adrian Tsang
- Center for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
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Zhu Z, Zou G, Chai S, Xiao M, Wang Y, Wang P, Zhou Z. The protein methyltransferase TrSAM inhibits cellulase gene expression by interacting with the negative regulator ACE1 in Trichoderma reesei. Commun Biol 2024; 7:375. [PMID: 38548869 PMCID: PMC10978942 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06072-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Protein methylation is a commonly posttranslational modification of transcriptional regulators to fine-tune protein function, however, whether this regulation strategy participates in the regulation of lignocellulase synthesis and secretion in Trichoderma reesei remains unexplored. Here, a putative protein methyltransferase (TrSAM) is screened from a T. reesei mutant with the ability to express heterologous β-glucosidase efficiently even under glucose repression. The deletion of its encoding gene trsam causes a significant increase of cellulase activities in all tested T. reesei strains, including transformants of expressing heterologous genes using cbh1 promotor. Further investigation confirms that TrSAM interacts with the cellulase negative regulator ACE1 via its amino acid residue Arg383, which causes a decrease in the ACE1-DNA binding affinity. The enzyme activity of a T. reesei strain harboring ACE1R383Q increases by 85.8%, whereas that of the strains with trsam or ace1 deletion increases by more than 100%. By contrast, the strain with ACE1R383K shows no difference to the parent strain. Taken together, our results demonstrate that TrSAM plays an important role in regulating the expression of cellulase and heterologous proteins initiated by cbh1 promotor through interacting with ACE1R383. Elimination and mutation of TrSAM and its downstream ACE1 alleviate the carbon catabolite repression (CCR) in expressing cellulase and heterologous protein in varying degrees. This provides a new solution for the exquisite modification of T. reesei chassis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihua Zhu
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 FengLin Rd, Shanghai, 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Gen Zou
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 FengLin Rd, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Institute of Edible Fungi, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Science, 1000 Jinqi Rd, Shanghai, 201403, China
| | - Shunxing Chai
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 FengLin Rd, Shanghai, 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Meili Xiao
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 FengLin Rd, Shanghai, 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yinmei Wang
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 FengLin Rd, Shanghai, 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Pingping Wang
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 FengLin Rd, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Zhihua Zhou
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 FengLin Rd, Shanghai, 200032, China.
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Zhang J, Li K, Sun Y, Yao C, Liu W, Liu H, Zhong Y. An efficient CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system based on a multiple sgRNA processing platform in Trichoderma reesei for strain improvement and enzyme production. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2024; 17:22. [PMID: 38342915 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-024-02468-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The CRISPR/Cas9 technology is being employed as a convenient tool for genetic engineering of the industrially important filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. However, multiplex gene editing is still constrained by the sgRNA processing capability, hindering strain improvement of T. reesei for the production of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes and recombinant proteins. RESULTS Here, a CRISPR/Cas9 system based on a multiple sgRNA processing platform was established for genome editing in T. reesei. The platform contains the arrayed tRNA-sgRNA architecture directed by a 5S rRNA promoter to generate multiple sgRNAs from a single transcript by the endogenous tRNA processing system. With this system, two sgRNAs targeting cre1 (encoding the carbon catabolite repressor 1) were designed and the precise deletion of cre1 was obtained, demonstrating the efficiency of sgRNAs processing in the tRNA-sgRNA architecture. Moreover, overexpression of xyr1-A824V (encoding a key activator for cellulase/xylanase expression) at the ace1 (encoding a repressor for cellulase/xylanase expression) locus was achieved by designing two sgRNAs targeting ace1 in the system, resulting in the significantly enhanced production of cellulase (up to 1- and 18-fold on the Avicel and glucose, respectively) and xylanase (up to 11- and 41-fold on the Avicel and glucose, respectively). Furthermore, heterologous expression of the glucose oxidase gene from Aspergillus niger ATCC 9029 at the cbh1 locus with the simultaneous deletion of cbh1 and cbh2 (two cellobiohydrolase coding genes) by designing four sgRNAs targeting cbh1 and cbh2 in the system was acquired, and the glucose oxidase produced by T. reesei reached 43.77 U/mL. Besides, it was found the ER-associated protein degradation (ERAD) level was decreased in the glucose oxidase-producing strain, which was likely due to the reduction of secretion pressure by deletion of the major endogenous cellulase-encoding genes. CONCLUSIONS The tRNA-gRNA array-based CRISPR-Cas9 editing system was successfully developed in T. reesei. This system would accelerate engineering of T. reesei for high-level production of enzymes including lignocellulose-degrading enzymes and other recombinant enzymes. Furthermore, it would expand the CRISPR toolbox for fungal genome editing and synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaxin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Kehang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Cheng Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Weifeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Hong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yaohua Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
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Randhawa A, A Ogunyewo O, Jawed K, Yazdani SS. Calcium signaling positively regulates cellulase translation and secretion in a Clr-2-overexpressing, catabolically derepressed strain of Penicillium funiculosum. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2024; 17:21. [PMID: 38336687 PMCID: PMC10858516 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02448-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Low-cost cellulase production is vital to sustainable second-generation biorefineries. The catabolically derepressed strain of Penicillium funiculosum NCIM1228 (PfMig188 or ∆Mig1) secretes a superior set of cellulolytic enzymes, that are most suitable for 2G biorefineries. At a 3% (w/w) load, the ∆Mig1 secretome can release > 80% of fermentable sugars from lignocellulose at a 15% (w/v) biomass load, irrespective of the type of biomass and pretreatment. The robustness of the secretome can be further increased by improving the cellulase production capacity of the fungal strain. RESULTS We began by identifying the transcription factor responsible for cellulase production in NCIM1228. An advanced RNA-seq screen identified three genes, clr-2, ctf1a and ctf1b; the genes were cloned under their native promoters and transformed into NCIM1228. Of the three, clr-2 overexpression led to twofold higher cellulase production than the parent strain and was thus identified as the transcriptional activator of cellulase in NCIM1228. Next, we overexpressed clr-2 in ∆Mig1 and expected an exponential increase in cellulolytic attributes accredited to the reinforced activation mechanisms, conjoint with diminished negative regulation. Although clr-2 overexpression increased the transcript levels of cellulase genes in ∆Mig1, there was no increase in cellulase yield. Even a further increase in the transcript levels of clr-2 via a stronger promoter was ineffective. However, when the CaCO3 concentration was increased to 5 g/l in the growth medium, we achieved a 1.5-fold higher activity of 6.4 FPU/ml in the ∆Mig1 strain with clr-2 overexpression. Enthused by the calcium effect, a transcriptomic screen for genes encoding Ca2+-activated kinase identified ssp1, whose overexpression could further increase cellulase yield to ~ 7.5 FPU/ml. Investigation of the mechanism revealed that calcium signaling exclusively enhances the translation and secretion of cellulase in Penicillium funiculosum. CONCLUSIONS Our study identifies for the first time that cellulose activates two discrete signaling events to govern cellulase transcription and posttranscriptional processes (translation, processing and secretion) in P. funiculosum NCIM1228. Whereas Clr-2, the transcriptional activator of cellulase, governs transcription, calcium signaling specifically activates cellulase translation and secretion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anmoldeep Randhawa
- Microbial Engineering Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India.
- DBT-ICGEB Centre for Advanced Bioenergy Research, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India.
- AMITY University, Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India.
| | - Olusola A Ogunyewo
- Microbial Engineering Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Kamran Jawed
- Microbial Engineering Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Syed Shams Yazdani
- Microbial Engineering Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India.
- DBT-ICGEB Centre for Advanced Bioenergy Research, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India.
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Adnan M, Liu G. Promoters and Synthetic Promoters in Trichoderma reesei. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2844:47-68. [PMID: 39068331 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4063-0_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Trichoderma reesei holds immense promise for large-scale protein production, rendering it an excellent subject for deeper exploration using genetic engineering methods to achieve a comprehensive grasp of its cellular physiology. Understanding the genetic factors governing its intrinsic regulatory network is crucial, as lacking this knowledge could impede the expression of target genes. Prior and ongoing studies have concentrated on advancing new expression systems grounded in synthetic biology principles. These methodologies involve utilizing established potent promoters or engineered variations. Genomic and transcriptomic analyses have played a pivotal role in identifying robust promoters and expression systems, including light-responsive, copper-inducible, L-methionine-inducible, and Tet-On systems, among others. This chapter seeks to highlight various research endeavors focusing on tunable and constitutive promoters, the impact of different promoters on both native and foreign protein expression, the discovery of fresh promoters, and strategies conducive to future research aimed at refining and enhancing protein expression in T. reesei. Characterizing new promoters and adopting innovative expression systems hold the potential to significantly expand the molecular toolkit accessible for genetically engineering T. reesei strains. For instance, modifying potent inducible promoters such as Pcbh1 by replacing transcriptional repressors (cre1, ace1) with activators (xyr1, ace2, ace3, hap2/3/5) and integrating synthetic expression systems can result in increased production of crucial enzymes such as endoglucanases (EGLs), β-glucosidases (BGLs), and cellobiohydrolases (CBHs). Similarly, robust constitutive promoters such as Pcdna1 can be converted into synthetic hybrid promoters by incorporating activation elements from potent inducible promoters, facilitating cellulase induction and expression even under repressive conditions. Nevertheless, further efforts are necessary to uncover innovative promoters and devise novel expression strategies to enhance the production of desired proteins on an industrial scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Adnan
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbial Genetic Engineering, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Gang Liu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbial Genetic Engineering, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
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Xu L, Li J, Gonzalez Ramos VM, Lyra C, Wiebenga A, Grigoriev IV, de Vries RP, Mäkelä MR, Peng M. Genome-wide prediction and transcriptome analysis of sugar transporters in four ascomycete fungi. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2024; 391:130006. [PMID: 37952592 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.130006] [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: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
The import of plant-derived small sugars by sugar transporters (STs) has received increasing interest due to its important biological role and great industrial potential. STs are important targets of genetic engineering to improve fungal plant biomass conversion. Comparatively analysis of the genome-wide prevalence and transcriptomics of STs was performed in four filamentous fungi: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus nidulans, Penicillium subrubescens and Trichoderma reesei. Using phylogenetic analysis and literature mining, their predicted STs were divided into ten subfamilies with putative sugar specificities assigned. In addition, transcriptome analysis revealed complex expression profiles among different STs subfamilies and fungal species, indicating a sophisticated transcriptome regulation and functional diversity of fungal STs. Several STs showed strong co-expression with other genes involved in sugar utilization, encoding CAZymes and sugar catabolic enzymes. This study provides new insights into the diversity of STs at the genomic/transcriptomic level, facilitating their biochemical characterization and metabolic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Xu
- Fungal Physiology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Jiajia Li
- Fungal Physiology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | | | - Christina Lyra
- Department of Microbiology, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Ad Wiebenga
- Fungal Physiology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Igor V Grigoriev
- USA Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd., Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
| | - Ronald P de Vries
- Fungal Physiology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Miia R Mäkelä
- Department of Microbiology, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Mao Peng
- Fungal Physiology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Alharake J, Bidard F, Aouam T, Sénamaud-Beaufort C, Margeot A, Heiss-Blanquet S. Effect of the res2 transcription factor gene deletion on protein secretion and stress response in the hyperproducer strain Trichoderma reesei Rut-C30. BMC Microbiol 2023; 23:374. [PMID: 38036984 PMCID: PMC10687790 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-03125-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The fungus Trichoderma reesei is one of the most used industrial cellulase producers due to its high capacity of protein secretion. Strains of T. reesei with enhanced protein secretion capacity, such as Rut-C30, have been obtained after several rounds of random mutagenesis. The strain was shown to possess an expanded endoplasmic reticulum, but the genetic factors responsible for this phenotype remain still unidentified. Recently, three new transcription factors were described in Neurospora crassa which were demonstrated to be involved in protein secretion. One of them, RES2, was involved in upregulation of secretion-related genes. The aim of our present study was therefore to analyze the role of RES2, on protein secretion in the T. reesei Rut-C30 strain. RESULT Deletion of the res2 gene in Rut-C30 resulted in slightly slower growth on all substrates tested, and lower germination rate as well as lower protein secretion compared to the parental strain Rut-C30. Transcriptomic analysis of the Rut-C30 and the Δres2 mutant strain in secretion stress conditions showed remarkably few differences : 971 genes were differentially expressed (DE) in both strains while 192 genes out of 1163 (~ 16.5%) were DE in Rut-C30 only and 693 out of 1664 genes (~ 41.6%) displayed differential expression solely in Δres2. Notably, induction of protein secretion by cultivating on lactose and addition of secretion stress inducer DTT induced many genes of the secretion pathway similarly in both strains. Among the differentially expressed genes, those coding for amino acid biosynthesis genes, transporters and genes involved in lipid metabolism were found to be enriched specifically in the Δres2 strain upon exposure to lactose or DTT. Besides, redox homeostasis and DNA repair genes were specifically upregulated in the Δres2 strain, indicating an altered stress response. CONCLUSION These results indicate that in the T. reesei Rut-C30 strain, RES2 does not act as a master regulator of the secretion pathway, but it contributes to a higher protein secretion by adjusting the expression of genes involved in different steps of protein synthesis and the secretion pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jawad Alharake
- IFP Energies Nouvelles, 1 et 4, avenue de Bois-Préau, Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, 92852, France
| | - Frédérique Bidard
- IFP Energies Nouvelles, 1 et 4, avenue de Bois-Préau, Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, 92852, France
| | - Thiziri Aouam
- IFP Energies Nouvelles, 1 et 4, avenue de Bois-Préau, Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, 92852, France
| | - Catherine Sénamaud-Beaufort
- Département de biologie, GenomiqueENS, Institut de Biologie de l'ENS (IBENS), CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, École normale supérieure, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Antoine Margeot
- IFP Energies Nouvelles, 1 et 4, avenue de Bois-Préau, Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, 92852, France
| | - Senta Heiss-Blanquet
- IFP Energies Nouvelles, 1 et 4, avenue de Bois-Préau, Rueil-Malmaison Cedex, 92852, France.
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11
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Xu W, Ren Y, Xia Y, Liu L, Meng X, Chen G, Zhang W, Liu W. A novel transcriptional repressor specifically regulates xylanase gene 1 in Trichoderma reesei. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:161. [PMID: 37891680 PMCID: PMC10612264 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02417-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The well-known industrial fungus Trichoderma reesei has an excellent capability of secreting a large amount of cellulases and xylanases. The induced expression of cellulase and xylanase genes is tightly controlled at the transcriptional level. However, compared to the intensive studies on the intricate regulatory mechanism of cellulase genes, efforts to understand how xylanase genes are regulated are relatively limited, which impedes the further improvement of xylanase production by T. reesei via rational strain engineering. RESULTS To identify transcription factors involved in regulating xylanase gene expression in T. reesei, yeast one-hybrid screen was performed based on the promoters of two major extracellular xylanase genes xyn1 and xyn2. A putative transcription factor named XTR1 showing significant binding capability to the xyn1 promoter but not that of xyn2, was successfully isolated. Deletion of xtr1 significantly increased the transcriptional level of xyn1, but only exerted a minor promoting effect on that of xyn2. The xylanase activity was increased by ~ 50% with XTR1 elimination but the cellulase activity was hardly affected. Subcellular localization analysis of XTR1 fused to a green fluorescence protein demonstrated that XTR1 is a nuclear protein. Further analyses revealed the precise binding site of XTR1 and nucleotides critical for the binding within the xyn1 promoter. Moreover, competitive EMSAs indicated that XTR1 competes with the essential transactivator XYR1 for binding to the xyn1 promoter. CONCLUSIONS XTR1 represents a new transcriptional repressor specific for controlling xylanase gene expression. Isolation and functional characterization of this new factor not only contribute to further understanding the stringent regulatory network of xylanase genes, but also provide important clues for boosting xylanase biosynthesis in T. reesei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqiang Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No.72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
- Shandong Lishan Biotechnology Co., LTD, Jinan, China
| | - Yajing Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No.72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuxiao Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No.72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No.72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiangfeng Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No.72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Guanjun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No.72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Weixin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No.72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
| | - Weifeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No.72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
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12
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Kerkaert JD, Huberman LB. Regulation of nutrient utilization in filamentous fungi. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 107:5873-5898. [PMID: 37540250 PMCID: PMC10983054 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12680-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua D Kerkaert
- Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Lori B Huberman
- Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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13
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Lv D, Zhang W, Meng X, Liu W. Single Mutation in Transcriptional Activator Xyr1 Enhances Cellulase and Xylanase Production in Trichoderma reesei on Glucose. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2023; 71:11993-12003. [PMID: 37523749 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c03466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
To achieve cost-effective production of lignocellulolytic enzymes for biorefinery processes, engineering transcription factors represents a powerful strategy to boost cellulase and xylanase in Trichoderma reesei. In this study, a novel mutation (R434L) in xylanase regulator 1 (Xyr1) was identified based on the yeast one-hybrid screening system. The point mutation was located in the middle homology region of Xyr1 with unclear functions, indicating a significant role for this domain in tuning Xyr1 transactivation. When constitutively expressed in T. reesei Δxyr1 (OEXR434L), Xyr1R434L led to highly improved production of both cellulases and xylanases on glucose compared with a strain similarly expressing Xyr1 (OEX). The respective 0.8- and 0.7-fold increases in extracellular pNPCase and xylanolytic activity were further verified to result from the greatly elevated transcription of major cellulase and xylanase genes in OEXR434L. Moreover, the saccharification efficiency of corn stover with OEXR434L enzyme cocktails was enhanced by 21% compared with that of OEX.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongmei Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Weixin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Xiangfeng Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Weifeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
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14
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Yan S, Xu Y, Yu XW. Role of cellulose response transporter-like protein CRT2 in cellulase induction in Trichoderma reesei. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:118. [PMID: 37488642 PMCID: PMC10364367 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02371-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Induction of cellulase in cellulolytic fungi Trichoderma reesei is strongly activated by cellulosic carbon sources. The transport of cellulosic inducer and the perception of inducing signal is generally considered as the critical process for cellulase induction, that the inducing signal would be perceived by a sugar transporter/transceptor in T. reesei. Several sugar transporters are coexpressed during the induction stage, but which function they serve and how they work collaboratively are still difficult to elucidate. RESULTS In this study, we found that the constitutive expression of the cellulose response transporter-like protein CRT2 (previously identified as putative lactose permease TRE77517) improves cellulase induction on a cellulose, cellobiose or lactose medium. Functional studies indicate that the membrane-bound CRT2 is not a transporter of cellobiose, lactose or glucose in a yeast system, and it also does not affect cellobiose and lactose utilization in T. reesei. Further study reveals that CRT2 has a slightly similar function to the cellobiose transporter CRT1 in cellulase induction. Overexpression of CRT2 led to upregulation of CRT1 and the key transcription factor XYR1. Moreover, overexpression of CRT2 could partially compensate for the function loss of CRT1 on cellulase induction. CONCLUSIONS Our study uncovers the novel function of CRT2 in cellulase induction collaborated with CRT1 and XYR1, possibly as a signal transductor. These results deepen the understanding of the influence of sugar transporters in cellulase production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Su Yan
- Lab of Brewing Microbiology and Applied Enzymology, School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Yan Xu
- Lab of Brewing Microbiology and Applied Enzymology, School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Xiao-Wei Yu
- Lab of Brewing Microbiology and Applied Enzymology, School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China.
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Li N, Qiu Z, Cai W, Shen Y, Wei D, Chen Y, Wang W. The Ras small GTPase RSR1 regulates cellulase production in Trichoderma reesei. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:87. [PMID: 37218014 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02341-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lignocellulose is the most abundant renewable resource in the world and has attracted widespread attention. It can be hydrolyzed into sugars with the help of cellulases and hemicellulases that are secreted by filamentous fungi. Several studies have revealed that the Ras small GTPase superfamily regulates important cellular physiological processes, including synthesis of metabolites, sporulation, and cell growth and differentiation. However, it remains unknown how and to what extent Ras small GTPases participate in cellulase production. RESULTS In this study, we found that the putative Ras small GTPase RSR1 negatively regulated the expression of cellulases and xylanases. Deletion of rsr1 (∆rsr1) significantly increased cellulase production and decreased the expression levels of ACY1-cAMP-protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway genes and the concentration of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Loss of acy1 based on ∆rsr1 (∆rsr1∆acy1) could further increase cellulase production and the expression levels of cellulase genes, while overexpression of acy1 based on ∆rsr1 (∆rsr1-OEacy1) significantly reduced cellulase production and transcriptional levels of cellulase genes. In addition, our results revealed that RSR1 negatively controlled cellulase production via the ACY1-cAMP-PKA pathway. Transcriptome analysis revealed significantly increased expression of three G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs; tre62462, tre58767, and tre53238) and approximately two-fold higher expression of ACE3 and XYR1, which transcriptionally activated cellulases with the loss of rsr1. ∆rsr1∆ tre62462 exhibited a decrease in cellulase activity compared to ∆rsr1, while that of ∆rsr1∆tre58767 and ∆rsr1∆tre53238 showed a remarkable improvement compared to ∆rsr1. These findings revealed that GPCRs on the membrane may sense extracellular signals and transmit them to rsr1 and then to ACY1-cAMP-PKA, thereby negatively controlling the expression of the cellulase activators ACE3 and XYR1. These data indicate the crucial role of Ras small GTPases in regulating cellulase gene expression. CONCLUSIONS Here, we demonstrate that some GPCRs and Ras small GTPases play key roles in the regulation of cellulase genes in Trichoderma reesei. Understanding the roles of these components in the regulation of cellulase gene transcription and the signaling processes in T. reesei can lay the groundwork for understanding and transforming other filamentous fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ni Li
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P.O.B. 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Zhouyuan Qiu
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P.O.B. 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Wanchuan Cai
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P.O.B. 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yaling Shen
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P.O.B. 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Dongzhi Wei
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P.O.B. 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yumeng Chen
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P.O.B. 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Wei Wang
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P.O.B. 311, Shanghai, 200237, China.
- Jiangsu Yiming Biological Technology Co., Ltd., Suqian, 223699, Jiangsu, China.
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16
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Ma C, Liu J, Tang J, Sun Y, Jiang X, Zhang T, Feng Y, Liu Q, Wang L. Current genetic strategies to investigate gene functions in Trichoderma reesei. Microb Cell Fact 2023; 22:97. [PMID: 37161391 PMCID: PMC10170752 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02104-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei (teleomorph Hypocrea jecorina, Ascomycota) is a well-known lignocellulolytic enzymes-producing strain in industry. To increase the fermentation titer of lignocellulolytic enzymes, random mutagenesis and rational genetic engineering in T. reesei were carried out since it was initially found in the Solomon Islands during the Second World War. Especially the continuous exploration of the underlying regulatory network during (hemi)cellulase gene expression in the post-genome era provided various strategies to develop an efficient fungal cell factory for these enzymes' production. Meanwhile, T. reesei emerges competitiveness potential as a filamentous fungal chassis to produce proteins from other species (e.g., human albumin and interferon α-2b, SARS-CoV-2 N antigen) in virtue of the excellent expression and secretion system acquired during the studies about (hemi)cellulase production. However, all the achievements in high yield of (hemi)cellulases are impossible to finish without high-efficiency genetic strategies to analyze the proper functions of those genes involved in (hemi)cellulase gene expression or secretion. Here, we in detail summarize the current strategies employed to investigate gene functions in T. reesei. These strategies are supposed to be beneficial for extending the potential of T. reesei in prospective strain engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chixiang Ma
- China Medical University-The Queen's University of Belfast Joint College, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, China
| | - Jialong Liu
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Jiaxin Tang
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Yuanlu Sun
- China Medical University-The Queen's University of Belfast Joint College, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, China
| | - Xiaojie Jiang
- China Medical University-The Queen's University of Belfast Joint College, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, China
| | - Tongtong Zhang
- China Medical University-The Queen's University of Belfast Joint College, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110122, China
| | - Yan Feng
- College of Life Sciences, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, 030801, Shanxi, China
| | - Qinghua Liu
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Lei Wang
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China.
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17
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Li N, Li J, Chen Y, Shen Y, Wei D, Wang W. Mechanism of Zn 2+ regulation of cellulase production in Trichoderma reesei Rut-C30. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:73. [PMID: 37118821 PMCID: PMC10148476 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02323-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trichoderma reesei Rut-C30 is a hypercellulolytic mutant strain that degrades abundant sources of lignocellulosic plant biomass, yielding renewable biofuels. Although Zn2+ is an activator of enzymes in almost all organisms, its effects on cellulase activity in T. reesei have yet to be reported. RESULTS Although high concentrations of Zn2+ severely suppressed the extension of T. reesei mycelia, the application of 1-4 mM Zn2+ enhanced cellulase and xylanase production in the high-yielding cellulase-producing Rut-C30 strain of T. reesei. Expression of the major cellulase, xylanase, and two essential transcription activator genes (xyr1 and ace3) increased in response to Zn2+ stimulation. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the mRNA levels of plc-e encoding phospholipase C, which is involved in the calcium signaling pathway, were enhanced by Zn2+ application. The disruption of plc-e abolished the cellulase-positive influence of Zn2+ in the early phase of induction, indicating that plc-e is involved in Zn2+-induced cellulase production. Furthermore, treatment with LaCl3 (a plasma membrane Ca2+ channel blocker) and deletion of crz1 (calcineurin-responsive zinc finger transcription factor 1) indicated that calcium signaling is partially involved in this process. Moreover, we identified the zinc-responsive transcription factor zafA, the transcriptional levels of which declined in response to Zn2+ stress. Deletion of zafA indicates that this factor plays a prominent role in mediating the Zn2+-induced excessive production of cellulase. CONCLUSIONS For the first time, we have demonstrated that Zn2+ is toxic to T. reesei, although promotes a marked increase in cellulase production. This positive influence of Zn2+ is facilitated by the plc-e gene and zafA transcription factor. These findings provide insights into the role of Zn2+ in T. reesei and the mechanisms underlying signal transduction in cellulase synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ni Li
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P. O. Box 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Jing Li
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P. O. Box 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yumeng Chen
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P. O. Box 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yaling Shen
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P. O. Box 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Dongzhi Wei
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P. O. Box 311, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Wei Wang
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, P. O. Box 311, Shanghai, 200237, China.
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Kun RS, Garrigues S, Peng M, Keymanesh K, Lipzen A, Ng V, Tejomurthula S, Grigoriev IV, de Vries RP. The transcriptional activator ClrB is crucial for the degradation of soybean hulls and guar gum in Aspergillus niger. Fungal Genet Biol 2023; 165:103781. [PMID: 36801368 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2023.103781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Low-cost plant substrates, such as soybean hulls, are used for various industrial applications. Filamentous fungi are important producers of Carbohydrate Active enZymes (CAZymes) required for the degradation of these plant biomass substrates. CAZyme production is tightly regulated by several transcriptional activators and repressors. One such transcriptional activator is CLR-2/ClrB/ManR, which has been identified as a regulator of cellulase and mannanase production in several fungi. However, the regulatory network governing the expression of cellulase and mannanase encoding genes has been reported to differ between fungal species. Previous studies showed that Aspergillus niger ClrB is involved in the regulation of (hemi-)cellulose degradation, although its regulon has not yet been identified. To reveal its regulon, we cultivated an A. niger ΔclrB mutant and control strain on guar gum (a galactomannan-rich substrate) and soybean hulls (containing galactomannan, xylan, xyloglucan, pectin and cellulose) to identify the genes that are regulated by ClrB. Gene expression data and growth profiling showed that ClrB is indispensable for growth on cellulose and galactomannan and highly contributes to growth on xyloglucan in this fungus. Therefore, we show that A. niger ClrB is crucial for the utilization of guar gum and the agricultural substrate, soybean hulls. Moreover, we show that mannobiose is most likely the physiological inducer of ClrB in A. niger and not cellobiose, which is considered to be the inducer of N. crassa CLR-2 and A. nidulans ClrB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roland S Kun
- Fungal Physiology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Sandra Garrigues
- Fungal Physiology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Mao Peng
- Fungal Physiology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Keykhosrow Keymanesh
- USA Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Anna Lipzen
- USA Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Vivian Ng
- USA Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Sravanthi Tejomurthula
- USA Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Igor V Grigoriev
- USA Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Ronald P de Vries
- Fungal Physiology, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands.
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Wang H, Pang AP, Li B, Huo L, Wu FG, Lin F. Intracellular Sugar Transporters Facilitate Cellulase Synthesis in Trichoderma reesei Using Lactose. Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13020295. [PMID: 36830663 PMCID: PMC9953249 DOI: 10.3390/biom13020295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Sugar transporters play an important role in the cellulase production of lignocellulose-degrading fungi. Nevertheless, the role and function of these transporters are still unclear. Here we first report intracellular sugar transporters assisting cellulase production in Trichoderma reesei (T. reesei) using lactose. The mRNA levels of sugar transporter genes mfs, gst, and lac1 were substantially upregulated in T. reesei cultivated on lactose, with the most abundant mRNA levels at 24 h as compared to glucose. Moreover, the individual deletion of these sugar transporters significantly inhibited cellulase production, solid cell growth, and sporulation of T. reesei, suggesting they play a supporting role in cellulase production when grown in lactose. Surprisingly, MFS, GST, and LAC1 were mainly localized in the cytoplasm, with MFS and LAC1 in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), representing the first discovery of intracellular sugar transporters involved in cellulase biosynthesis in lactose culture. The absence of the gene lac1 noticeably inhibited most of the crucial genes related to cellulase production, including cellulase-encoding genes, transcription factors, and sugar transporters, at 24 h, which was fully relieved at 48 h or 72 h, indicating that lac1 affects cellulase production more at the early step. This research advances the understanding of the function of intracellular sugar transporters in fungi, particularly for fungal cellulase production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300453, China
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Ai-Ping Pang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Bingzhi Li
- Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Liujie Huo
- Helmholtz International Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Fu-Gen Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Fengming Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300453, China
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
- Correspondence:
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20
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Sun X, Liang Y, Wang Y, Zhang H, Zhao T, Yao B, Luo H, Huang H, Su X. Simultaneous manipulation of multiple genes within a same regulatory stage for iterative evolution of Trichoderma reesei. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2022; 15:26. [PMID: 35248141 PMCID: PMC8898424 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-022-02122-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Background While there is growing interest in developing non-canonical filamentous fungi as hosts for producing secretory proteins, genetic engineering of filamentous fungi for improved expression often relies heavily on the understanding of regulatory mechanisms. Results In this study, using the cellulase-producing filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei as a model system, we designed a semi-rational strategy by arbitrarily dividing the regulation of cellulase production into three main stages-transcription, secretion, and cell metabolism. Selected regulatory or functional genes that had been experimentally verified or predicted to enhance cellulase production were overexpressed using strong inducible or constitutive promoters, while those that would inhibit cellulase production were repressed via RNAi-mediated gene silencing. A T. reesei strain expressing the surface-displayed DsRed fluorescent protein was used as the recipient strain. After three consecutive rounds of engineering, the cellulase activity increased to up to 4.35-fold and the protein concentration increased to up to 2.97-fold in the genetically modified strain. Conclusions We demonstrated that, as a proof-of-concept, selected regulatory or functional genes within an arbitrarily defined stage could be pooled to stimulate secretory cellulase production, and moreover, this method could be iteratively used for further improvement. This method is semi-rational and can essentially be used in filamentous fungi with little regulatory information. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13068-022-02122-0.
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Wang H, Pang AP, Wang W, Li B, Li C, Wu FG, Lin F. Discovery of ER-localized sugar transporters for cellulase production with lac1 being essential. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2022; 15:132. [PMID: 36443855 PMCID: PMC9706901 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-022-02230-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the process of cellulose hydrolysis, carbohydrate hydrolysates are transported into cells through membrane transporters, and then affect the expression of cellulase-encoding genes. Sugar transporters play a crucial role in cellulase production in lignocellulolytic fungi, of which relatively few have been functionally validated to date and are all reported to be on cell membrane. RESULT Through transcriptome analysis and qRT-PCR, three putative MFS sugar transporters GST, MFS, and LAC1 were found to display significantly higher mRNA levels in T. reesei grown on cellulose than on glucose. The individual deletion of these three genes compromised cellulase production and delayed sugar absorption by 24 h in T. reesei. Nevertheless, they transported pretty low level of sugars, including galactose, lactose, and mannose, and did not transport glucose, when expressed in yeast system. Meanwhile, all three transporters were unexpectedly found to be intracellular, being located in endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Particularly, the knockout of lac1 almost abolished cellulase production, and significantly inhibited biomass generation regardless of sugar types, indicating that lac1 is essential for cellulase production and biomass formation. The absence of lac1 upregulated genes involved in ribosome biogenesis, while downregulated genes in cellulase production, protein processing in ER (particularly protein glycosylation), and lipid biosynthesis. The inhibition of lac1 deletion on the transcriptional levels of genes related to cellulase biosynthesis was restored after 72 h, but the cellulase production was still inhibited, indicating lac1 might pose a post-transcription regulation on cellulase production that are independent on the known cellulase regulation mediated by CRT1 and XYR1. CONCLUSION For the first time, intracellular sugar transporters (mfs, gst, and lac1) facilitating cellulase production were identified, which was distributed in ER. Their sugar transporting ability was very weak, indicating that they might be related to sugar utilization inside cells rather than the cellular sugar uptake. More importantly, sugar transporter lac1 is first found to be essential for cellulase production and biomass formation by affecting protein processing in ER (particularly protein glycosylation) and lipid biosynthesis. The effect of LAC1 on cellulase production seems to be post-transcriptional at late stage of cellulase production, independent on the well-known cellulase regulation mediated by CRT1 and XYR1. These findings improve the understanding of intracellular sugar transporters in fungi and their important role in cellulase synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ai-Ping Pang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wei Wang
- State Key Lab of Bioreactor Engineering, New World Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Bingzhi Li
- Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Chengcheng Li
- School of Light Ind. & Food Sci. and Joint International Research Lab of Lignocellulosic Functional Materials, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Fu-Gen Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Fengming Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
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Arai T, Ichinose S, Shibata N, Kakeshita H, Kodama H, Igarashi K, Takimura Y. Inducer-free cellulase production system based on the constitutive expression of mutated XYR1 and ACE3 in the industrial fungus Trichoderma reesei. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19445. [PMID: 36376415 PMCID: PMC9663580 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23815-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Trichoderma reesei is a widely used host for producing cellulase and hemicellulase cocktails for lignocellulosic biomass degradation. Here, we report a genetic modification strategy for industrial T. reesei that enables enzyme production using simple glucose without inducers, such as cellulose, lactose and sophorose. Previously, the mutated XYR1V821F or XYR1A824V was known to induce xylanase and cellulase using only glucose as a carbon source, but its enzyme composition was biased toward xylanases, and its performance was insufficient to degrade lignocellulose efficiently. Therefore, we examined combinations of mutated XYR1V821F and constitutively expressed CRT1, BGLR, VIB1, ACE2, or ACE3, known as cellulase regulators and essential factors for cellulase expression to the T. reesei E1AB1 strain that has been highly mutagenized for improving enzyme productivity and expressing a ß-glucosidase for high enzyme performance. The results showed that expression of ACE3 to the mutated XYR1V821F expressing strain promoted cellulase expression. Furthermore, co-expression of these two transcription factors also resulted in increased productivity, with enzyme productivity 1.5-fold higher than with the conventional single expression of mutated XYR1V821F. Additionally, that productivity was 5.5-fold higher compared to productivity with an enhanced single expression of ACE3. Moreover, although the DNA-binding domain of ACE3 had been considered essential for inducer-free cellulase production, we found that ACE3 with a partially truncated DNA-binding domain was more effective in cellulase production when co-expressed with a mutated XYR1V821F. This study demonstrates that co-expression of the two transcription factors, the mutated XYR1V821F or XYR1A824V and ACE3, resulted in optimized enzyme composition and increased productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiharu Arai
- Biological Science Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama, Wakayama, 640‑8580, Japan
| | - Sakurako Ichinose
- Biological Science Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama, Wakayama, 640‑8580, Japan
| | - Nozomu Shibata
- Biological Science Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama, Wakayama, 640‑8580, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Kakeshita
- Biological Science Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama, Wakayama, 640‑8580, Japan.
| | - Hiroshi Kodama
- Biological Science Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama, Wakayama, 640‑8580, Japan
| | - Kazuaki Igarashi
- Biological Science Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama, Wakayama, 640‑8580, Japan
| | - Yasushi Takimura
- Biological Science Research, Kao Corporation, 1334 Minato, Wakayama, Wakayama, 640‑8580, Japan
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23
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Improvement of Lignocellulolytic Enzyme Production Mediated by Calcium Signaling in Bacillus subtilis Z2 under Graphene Oxide Stress. Appl Environ Microbiol 2022; 88:e0096022. [PMID: 36121214 PMCID: PMC9552604 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00960-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
An increase in exoenzyme production can be enhanced by environmental stresses such as graphene oxide (GO) stress, but the link between the two events is still unclear. In this work, the effect of GO as an environmental stress factor on exoenzyme (lignocellulolytic enzyme, amylase, peptidase, and protease) biosynthesis was investigated in Bacillus subtilis Z2, and a plausible mechanism by which cytosolic Ca2+ regulates lignocellulolytic enzyme production in B. subtilis Z2 subjected to GO stress was proposed. The filter paper-hydrolyzing (FPase [representing total cellulase]), carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase [representing endoglucanase]), and β-glucosidase activities and extracellular protein concentration of the wild-type strain under 10 μg/mL GO stress were 1.37-, 1.64-, 1.24-, and 1.16-fold those of the control (without GO stress), respectively. Correspondingly, the transcription levels of lignocellulolytic enzyme genes, cytosolic Ca2+ level, and biomass concentration of B. subtilis were all increased. With lignocellulolytic enzyme from B. subtilis used to hydrolyze alkali-pretreated rice straw, the released reducing sugar concentration reached 265.53 mg/g, and the removal rates of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin were 52.4%, 30.1%, and 7.5%, respectively. Furthermore, transcriptome data revealed that intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis played a key role in regulating the levels of gene transcription related to the synthesis of lignocellulolytic enzymes and exoenzymes. Finally, the use of Ca2+ inhibitors (LaCl3 and EDTA) and deletion of spcF (a calmodulin-like protein gene) further demonstrated that the overexpression of those genes was regulated via calcium signaling in B. subtilis subjected to GO stress. IMPORTANCE To effectively convert lignocellulose into fermentable sugars, high lignocellulolytic enzyme loading is needed. Graphene oxide (GO) has been shown to promote exoenzyme (lignocellulolytic enzyme, amylase, peptidase, and protease) production in some microorganisms; however, the regulatory mechanism of the biosynthesis of lignocellulolytic enzymes under GO stress remains unclear. In this work, the lignocellulolytic enzyme production of B. subtilis under GO stress was investigated, and the potential mechanism by which B. subtilis enhanced lignocellulolytic enzyme production through the calcium signaling pathway under GO stress was proposed. This work revealed the role of calcium signaling in the production of enzymes under external environmental stress and provided a direction to facilitate lignocellulolytic enzyme production by B. subtilis.
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Li N, Zeng Y, Chen Y, Shen Y, Wang W. Induction of cellulase production by Sr 2+ in Trichoderma reesei via calcium signaling transduction. BIORESOUR BIOPROCESS 2022; 9:96. [PMID: 38647894 PMCID: PMC10992071 DOI: 10.1186/s40643-022-00587-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30 is a well-known high-yielding cellulase-producing fungal strain that converts lignocellulose into cellulosic sugar for resource regeneration. Calcium is a ubiquitous secondary messenger that regulates growth and cellulase production in T. reesei. We serendipitously found that adding Sr2+ to the medium significantly increased cellulase activity in the T. reesei RUT-C30 strain and upregulated the expression of cellulase-related genes. Further studies showed that Sr2+ supplementation increased the cytosolic calcium concentration and activated the calcium-responsive signal transduction pathway of Ca2+-calcineurin-responsive zinc finger transcription factor 1 (CRZ1). Using the plasma membrane Ca2+ channel blocker, LaCl3, we demonstrated that Sr2+ induces cellulase production via the calcium signaling pathway. Supplementation with the corresponding concentrations of Sr2+ also inhibited colony growth. Sr2+ supplementation led to an increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and upregulated the transcriptional levels of intracellular superoxide dismutase (sod1) and catalase (cat1). We further demonstrated that ROS content was detrimental to cellulase production, which was alleviated by the ROS scavenger N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). This study demonstrated for the first time that Sr2+ supplementation stimulates cellulase production and upregulates cellulase genes via the calcium signaling transduction pathway. Sr2+ leads to an increase in intracellular ROS, which is detrimental to cellulase production and can be alleviated by the ROS scavenger NAC. Our results provide insights into the mechanistic study of cellulase synthesis and the discovery of novel inducers of cellulase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ni Li
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, New World Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yi Zeng
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, New World Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yumeng Chen
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, New World Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yaling Shen
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, New World Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Wei Wang
- The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, New World Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China.
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Sharma G, Kaur B, Raheja Y, Agrawal D, Basotra N, Di Falco M, Tsang A, Singh Chadha B. Lignocellulolytic enzymes from Aspergillus allahabadii for efficient bioconversion of rice straw into fermentable sugars and biogas. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 360:127507. [PMID: 35753566 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The study was aimed at developing lignocellulolytic strain capable of efficient hydrolysis of mild alkali deacetylated (MAD) rice straw. The valorisation of lignin rich black liquor obtained during pre-treatment of rice straw into biogas was also evaluated. Study reports highly proficient cellulolytic Aspergillus allahabadii strain harbouring a spectrum of CAZymes based on comparative genome wide analysis that was subjected to strain breeding for developing a hyper producing strain. The secretome analysis showed up-modulation and several folds increase in the CAZyme activities in the culture extracts of the developed strain MAN 40 when compared to parent. The cellulolytic cocktail of the developed strain showed 1.52 folds higher saccharification of MAD rice straw when compared to Cellic CTec 3. Moreover, in-situ addition of cellulases derived from developed strains resulted in ∼3.7 folds higher methane production during anaerobic digestion of mixture of lignin rich black liquor and differently treated rice straw.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Sharma
- Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, Punjab, India
| | - Baljit Kaur
- Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, Punjab, India
| | - Yashika Raheja
- Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, Punjab, India
| | - Dhruv Agrawal
- Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, Punjab, India
| | - Neha Basotra
- Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, Punjab, India
| | - Marcos Di Falco
- Center for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Adrian Tsang
- Center for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada
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Duong HL, Paufler S, Harms H, Schlosser D, Maskow T. Fungal Lignocellulose Utilisation Strategies from a Bioenergetic Perspective: Quantification of Related Functional Traits Using Biocalorimetry. Microorganisms 2022; 10:1675. [PMID: 36014092 PMCID: PMC9415514 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10081675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we investigated whether a non-invasive metabolic heat flux analysis could serve the determination of the functional traits in free-living saprotrophic decomposer fungi and aid the prediction of fungal influences on ecosystem processes. For this, seven fungi, including ascomycete, basidiomycete, and zygomycete species, were investigated in a standardised laboratory environment, employing wheat straw as a globally relevant lignocellulosic substrate. Our study demonstrates that biocalorimetry can be employed successfully to determine growth-related fungal activity parameters, such as apparent maximum growth rates (AMGR), cultivation times until the observable onset of fungal growth at AMGR (tAMGR), quotients formed from the AMGR and tAMGR (herein referred to as competitive growth potential, CGP), and heat yield coefficients (YQ/X), the latter indicating the degree of resource investment into fungal biomass versus other functional attributes. These parameters seem suitable to link fungal potentials for biomass production to corresponding ecological strategies employed during resource utilisation, and therefore may be considered as fungal life history traits. A close connection exists between the CGP and YQ/X values, which suggests an interpretation that relates to fungal life history strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hieu Linh Duong
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraβe 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- Faculty of Engineering, Vietnamese-German University (VGU), Le Lai Street, Hoa Phu Ward, Thủ Dầu Một 7500, Binh Duong, Vietnam
| | - Sven Paufler
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraβe 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hauke Harms
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraβe 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dietmar Schlosser
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraβe 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thomas Maskow
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraβe 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
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Xia Y, Wang J, Guo C, Xu H, Wang W, Yang M, Shen Q, Zhang R, Miao Y. Exploring the multi-level regulation of lignocellulases in the filamentous fungus Trichoderma guizhouense NJAU4742 from an omics perspective. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:144. [PMID: 35842666 PMCID: PMC9288086 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01869-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Filamentous fungi are highly efficient at deconstructing plant biomass by secreting a variety of enzymes, but the complex enzymatic regulation underlying this process is not conserved and remains unclear. RESULTS In this study, cellulases and xylanases could specifically respond to Avicel- and xylan-induction, respectively, in lignocellulose-degrading strain Trichoderma guizhouense NJAU4742, however, the differentially regulated cellulases and xylanases were both under the absolute control of the same TgXyr1-mediated pathway. Further analysis showed that Avicel could specifically induce cellulase expression, which supported the existence of an unknown specific regulator of cellulases in strain NJAU4742. The xylanase secretion is very complex, GH10 endoxylanases could only be induced by Avicel, while, other major xylanases were significantly induced by both Avicel and xylan. For GH10 xylanases, an unknown specific regulator was also deduced to exist. Meanwhile, the post-transcriptional inhibition was subsequently suggested to stop the Avicel-induced xylanases secretion, which explained the specifically high xylanase activities when induced by xylan in strain NJAU4742. Additionally, an economical strategy used by strain NJAU4742 was proposed to sense the environmental lignocellulose under the carbon starvation condition, that only slightly activating 4 lignocellulose-degrading genes before largely secreting all 33 TgXyr1-controlled lignocellulases if confirming the existence of lignocellulose components. CONCLUSIONS This study, aiming to explore the unknown mechanisms of plant biomass-degrading enzymes regulation through the combined omics analysis, will open directions for in-depth understanding the complex carbon utilization in filamentous fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanwei Xia
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingfan Wang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Chuanxu Guo
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Huanhuan Xu
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Wang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingzhu Yang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Qirong Shen
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruifu Zhang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources Collection and Preservation, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081, Beijing, China
| | - Youzhi Miao
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
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Mohammadi S, Tarrahimofrad H, Arjmand S, Zamani J, Haghbeen K, Aminzadeh S. Expression, characterization, and activity optimization of a novel cellulase from the thermophilic bacteria Cohnella sp. A01. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10301. [PMID: 35717508 PMCID: PMC9206686 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14651-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Cellulases are hydrolytic enzymes with wide scientific and industrial applications. We described a novel cellulase, CelC307, from the thermophilic indigenous Cohnella sp. A01. The 3-D structure of the CelC307 was predicted by comparative modeling. Docking of CelC307 with specific inhibitors and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation revealed that these ligands bound in a non-competitive manner. The CelC307 protein was purified and characterized after recombinant expression in Escherichia coli (E. coli) BL21. Using CMC 1% as the substrate, the thermodynamic values were determined as Km 0.46 mM, kcat 104.30 × 10-3 (S-1), and kcat/Km 226.73 (M-1 S-1). The CelC307 was optimally active at 40 °C and pH 7.0. The culture condition was optimized for improved CelC307 expression using Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken design as follows: temperature 20 °C, pH 7.5, and inoculation concentration with an OD600 = 1. The endoglucanase activity was positively modulated in the presence of Na+, Li+, Ca2+, 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME), and glycerol. The thermodynamic parameters calculated for CelC307 confirmed its inherent thermostability. The characterized CelC307 may be a suitable candidate for various biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shima Mohammadi
- Bioprocess Engineering Group, Institute of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran
| | - Hossein Tarrahimofrad
- Bioprocess Engineering Group, Institute of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran
| | - Sareh Arjmand
- Protein Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Javad Zamani
- Bioprocess Engineering Group, Institute of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran
| | - Kamahldin Haghbeen
- Bioprocess Engineering Group, Institute of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran
| | - Saeed Aminzadeh
- Bioprocess Engineering Group, Institute of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran.
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Dong M, Wang S, Xu F, Xiao G, Bai J, Wang J, Sun X. Integrative transcriptome and proteome analyses of Trichoderma longibrachiatum LC and its cellulase hyper-producing mutants generated by heavy ion mutagenesis reveal the key genes involved in cellulolytic enzymes regulation. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2022; 15:63. [PMID: 35658919 PMCID: PMC9166314 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-022-02161-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Background The major challenge of facing the efficient utilization of biomass is the high cost of cellulolytic enzyme, while the Trichoderma longibrachiatum plays an essential role in the production of industrial enzymes and biomass recycling. Results The cellulase hyper‑producing mutants of LC-M4 and LC-M16 derived from the wild type T. longibrachiatum LC strain through heavy ion mutagenesis exhibited the high-efficiency secretion ability of cellulase and hemicellulose. The FPase activities of LC-M4 (4.51 IU/mL) and LC-M16 (4.16 IU/mL) mutants increased by 46.91% and 35.5% when compared to the LC strain, respectively. Moreover, these two cellulase hyper-producing mutants showed faster growth rate on the cellulosic substrates (Avicel and CMC-Na) plate than that of LC strain. Therefore, an integrative transcriptome and proteome profiling analysis of T. longibrachiatum LC and its cellulase hyper‑producing mutant LC-M4 and LC-M16 were employed to reveal the key genes involved in cellulolytic enzymes regulation. It was showed that the transcriptome and proteome profiles changed dramatically between the wild strain and mutant strains. Notably, the overlapped genes obtained from integrative analysis identified that the protein processing in ER involved in protein secretory pathway, starch and sucrose metabolism pathway and N-glycan biosynthesis pathway were significantly changed both in cellulase hyper-producing mutants and thereby improving the enzyme secretion efficiency, which maybe the main reason of cellulase hyper-production in LC-M4 and LC-M16 mutants. In addition, the three DEGs/DEPs (PDI, Sec61, VIP36) related with protein secretion in ER and two DEGs/DEPs (OST, MOGS) related with N-glycan biosynthesis were identified as key candidate genes participating in enzyme protein biosynthesis and secretion. Conclusions In this study, a hypothetical secretory model of cellulase protein in filamentous fungi was established on the basis of DEGs/DEPs and key genes identified from the omics analysis, which were of great guidance on the rational genetic engineering and/or breeding of filamentous fungi for improving cellulase production. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13068-022-02161-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miaoyin Dong
- Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 509 Nanchang Rd, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People's Republic of China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuyang Wang
- Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 509 Nanchang Rd, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People's Republic of China. .,Institute of Biology, Gansu Academy of Sciences, 197 Dingxi South Rd, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People's Republic of China. .,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, People's Republic of China.
| | - Fuqiang Xu
- Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 509 Nanchang Rd, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People's Republic of China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Guoqing Xiao
- Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 509 Nanchang Rd, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People's Republic of China. .,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jin Bai
- Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 509 Nanchang Rd, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People's Republic of China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Junkai Wang
- College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Northwest Normal University, 967Anning East Rd, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People's Republic of China
| | - Xisi Sun
- Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 509 Nanchang Rd, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People's Republic of China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, People's Republic of China
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Development of an Efficient C-to-T Base-Editing System and Its Application to Cellulase Transcription Factor Precise Engineering in Thermophilic Fungus Myceliophthora thermophila. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0232121. [PMID: 35608343 PMCID: PMC9241923 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02321-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Myceliophthora thermophila is a thermophilic fungus with great potential in biorefineries and biotechnology. The base editor is an upgraded version of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-dependent genome-editing tool that introduces precise point mutations without causing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and has been used in various organisms but rarely in filamentous fungi, especially thermophilic filamentous fungi. Here, for the first time, we constructed three cytosine base editors (CBEs) in M. thermophila, namely, evolved apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic subunit 1 (APOBEC1) cytosine base editor 4 max (Mtevo-BE4max), bacteriophage Mu Gam protein cytosine base editor 4 max (MtGAM-BE4max), and evolved CDA1 deaminase cytosine base editor (Mtevo-CDA1), and efficiently inactivated genes by precisely converting three codons (CAA, CAG, and CGA) into stop codons without DSB formation. The Mtevo-CDA1 editor with up to 92.6% editing efficiency is a more suitable tool for cytosine base editing in thermophilic fungi. To investigate the function of each motif of the cellulase transcription factor M. thermophila CLR-2 (MtCLR-2), we used the Mtevo-CDA1 editor. The fungal-specific motif of MtCLR-2 was found to be strongly involved in cellulase secretion, conidium formation, hyphal branching, and colony formation. Mutation of the fungus-specific motif caused significant defects in these characteristics. Thus, we developed an efficient thermophilic fungus-compatible base-editing system that could also be used for genetic engineering in other relevant filamentous fungi. IMPORTANCE A CRISPR/Cas-based base-editing approach has been developed to introduce point mutations without inducing double-strand breaks (DSBs) and attracted substantial academic and industrial interest. Our study developed the deaminase-cytosine base-editing system to efficiently edit three target genes, amdS, cre-1, and the essential cellulase regulator gene Mtclr-2, in Myceliophthora thermophila. A variety of point mutations in the target loci of the DNA-binding domain and fungus-specific motif of M. thermophila CLR-2 (MtCLR-2) were successfully generated via our base editor Mtevo-CDA1 to elucidate its function. Here, we show that the DNA-binding domain of MtCLR-2 is important for the fungal response to cellulose conditions, while its fungus-specific motif is involved in fungal growth. These findings indicate that our base editor can be an effective tool for elucidating the functions of motifs of target genes in filamentous fungi and for metabolic engineering in the field of synthetic biology.
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Pang AP, Luo Y, Hu X, Zhang F, Wang H, Gao Y, Durrani S, Li C, Shi X, Wu FG, Li BZ, Lu Z, Lin F. Transmembrane transport process and endoplasmic reticulum function facilitate the role of gene cel1b in cellulase production of Trichoderma reesei. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:90. [PMID: 35590356 PMCID: PMC9118834 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01809-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background A total of 11 β-glucosidases are predicted in the genome of Trichoderma reesei, which are of great importance for regulating cellulase biosynthesis. Nevertheless, the relevant function and regulation mechanism of each β-glucosidase remained unknown. Results We evidenced that overexpression of cel1b dramatically decreased cellulase synthesis in T. reesei RUT-C30 both at the protein level and the mRNA level. In contrast, the deletion of cel1b did not noticeably affect cellulase production. Protein CEL1B was identified to be intracellular, being located in vacuole and cell membrane. The overexpression of cel1b reduced the intracellular pNPGase activity and intracellular/extracellular glucose concentration without inducing carbon catabolite repression. On the other hand, RNA-sequencing analysis showed the transmembrane transport process and endoplasmic reticulum function were affected noticeably by overexpressing cel1b. In particular, some important sugar transporters were notably downregulated, leading to a compromised cellular uptake of sugars including glucose and cellobiose. Conclusions Our data suggests that the cellulase inhibition by cel1b overexpression was not due to the β-glucosidase activity, but probably the dysfunction of the cellular transport process (particularly sugar transport) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These findings advance the knowledge of regulation mechanism of cellulase synthesis in filamentous fungi, which is the basis for rationally engineering T. reesei strains to improve cellulase production in industry. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-022-01809-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai-Ping Pang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yongsheng Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xin Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Funing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Haiyan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yichen Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Samran Durrani
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Chengcheng Li
- International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials and Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Xiaotong Shi
- International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials and Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Fu-Gen Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Bing-Zhi Li
- Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Zuhong Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
| | - Fengming Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
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Ranganathan S, Mahesh S, Suresh S, Nagarajan A, Z Sen T, M Yennamalli R. Experimental and computational studies of cellulases as bioethanol enzymes. Bioengineered 2022; 13:14028-14046. [PMID: 35730402 PMCID: PMC9345620 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2022.2085541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bioethanol industries and bioprocesses have many challenges that constantly impede commercialization of the end product. One of the bottlenecks in the bioethanol industry is the challenge of discovering highly efficient catalysts that can improve biomass conversion. The current promising bioethanol conversion catalysts are microorganism-based cellulolytic enzymes, but lack optimization for high bioethanol conversion, due to biological and other factors. A better understanding of molecular underpinnings of cellulolytic enzyme mechanisms and significant ways to improve them can accelerate the bioethanol commercial production process. In order to do this, experimental methods are the primary choice to evaluate and characterize cellulase’s properties, but they are time-consuming and expensive. A time-saving, complementary approach involves computational methods that evaluate the same properties and improves our atomistic-level understanding of enzymatic mechanism of action. Theoretical methods in many cases have proposed research routes for subsequent experimental testing and validation, reducing the overall research cost. Having a plethora of tools to evaluate cellulases and the yield of the enzymatic process will aid in planning more optimized experimental setups. Thus, there is a need to connect the computational evaluation methods with the experimental methods to overcome the bottlenecks in the bioethanol industry. This review discusses various experimental and computational methods and their use in evaluating the multiple properties of cellulases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shrivaishnavi Ranganathan
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Tirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur, India
| | - Sankar Mahesh
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Tirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur, India
| | - Sruthi Suresh
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Tirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur, India
| | - Ayshwarya Nagarajan
- Department of Bioinformatics, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Tirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur, India
| | - Taner Z Sen
- S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Crop Improvement and Genetics Research UnitU., California, USA
| | - Ragothaman M Yennamalli
- Department of Bioinformatics, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Tirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur, India
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Beier S, Stiegler M, Hitzenhammer E, Monika S. Screening for genes involved in cellulase regulation by expression under the control of a novel constitutive promoter in Trichoderma reesei. CURRENT RESEARCH IN BIOTECHNOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crbiot.2022.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
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Mattam AJ, Chaudhari YB, Velankar HR. Factors regulating cellulolytic gene expression in filamentous fungi: an overview. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:44. [PMID: 35317826 PMCID: PMC8939176 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01764-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The growing demand for biofuels such as bioethanol has led to the need for identifying alternative feedstock instead of conventional substrates like molasses, etc. Lignocellulosic biomass is a relatively inexpensive feedstock that is available in abundance, however, its conversion to bioethanol involves a multistep process with different unit operations such as size reduction, pretreatment, saccharification, fermentation, distillation, etc. The saccharification or enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose involves a complex family of enzymes called cellulases that are usually fungal in origin. Cellulose hydrolysis requires the synergistic action of several classes of enzymes, and achieving the optimum secretion of these simultaneously remains a challenge. The expression of fungal cellulases is controlled by an intricate network of transcription factors and sugar transporters. Several genetic engineering efforts have been undertaken to modulate the expression of cellulolytic genes, as well as their regulators. This review, therefore, focuses on the molecular mechanism of action of these transcription factors and their effect on the expression of cellulases and hemicellulases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anu Jose Mattam
- Hindustan Petroleum Green R and D Centre (HPGRDC), KIADB Industrial Area, Tarabanahalli, Devanagundi, Hoskote, Bangalore, 560067, India
| | - Yogesh Babasaheb Chaudhari
- Hindustan Petroleum Green R and D Centre (HPGRDC), KIADB Industrial Area, Tarabanahalli, Devanagundi, Hoskote, Bangalore, 560067, India
| | - Harshad Ravindra Velankar
- Hindustan Petroleum Green R and D Centre (HPGRDC), KIADB Industrial Area, Tarabanahalli, Devanagundi, Hoskote, Bangalore, 560067, India.
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Promoter regulation and genetic engineering strategies for enhanced cellulase expression in Trichoderma reesei. Microbiol Res 2022; 259:127011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2022.127011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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Xu W, Fang Y, Ding M, Ren Y, Meng X, Chen G, Zhang W, Liu W. Elimination of the Sugar Transporter GAT1 Increased Xylanase I Production in Trichoderma reesei. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:810066. [PMID: 35154055 PMCID: PMC8825865 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.810066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei secretes large quantities of cellulases and hemicellulases that have found wide applications in industry. Compared with extensive studies on the mechanism controlling cellulase gene expression, less is known about the regulatory mechanism behind xylanase gene expression. Herein, several putative sugar transporter encoding genes that showed significant upregulation on xylan were identified in T. reesei. Deletion of one such gene, gat1, resulted in increased xylanase production but hardly affected cellulase induction. Further analyses demonstrated that deletion of gat1 markedly increased XYNI production at the transcriptional level and only exerted a minor effect on XYNII synthesis. In contrast, overexpressing gat1 caused a continuous decrease in xyn1 expression. Deletion of gat1 also affected the expression of xyn1 and pectinase genes when T. reesei was cultivated with galacturonic acid as the sole carbon source. Transcriptome analyses of Δgat1 and its parental strain identified 255 differentially expressed genes that are enriched in categories of glycoside hydrolases, lipid metabolism, transporters, and transcriptional factors. The results thus implicate a repressive role of the sugar transporter GAT1 in xyn1 expression and reveal that distinct regulatory mechanisms may exist in controlling the expression of different xylanase genes in T. reesei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqiang Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Yu Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Mingyang Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Yajing Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Xiangfeng Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Guanjun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Weixin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Weifeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
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Lian LD, Shi LY, Zhu J, Liu R, Shi L, Ren A, Yu HS, Zhao MW. GlSwi6 Positively Regulates Cellulase and Xylanase Activities through Intracellular Ca2+ Signaling in Ganoderma lucidum. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8020187. [PMID: 35205940 PMCID: PMC8877461 DOI: 10.3390/jof8020187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Ganoderma lucidum is a white-rot fungus that produces a range of lignocellulolytic enzymes to decompose lignin and cellulose. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway has been implicated in xylanases and cellulases production. As the downstream transcription factor of Slt2-MAPK, the function of Swi6 in G. lucidum has not been fully studied. In this study, the transcription factor GlSwi6 in G. lucidum was characterized and shown to significantly positively regulate cellulases and xylanases production. Knockdown of the GlSwi6 gene decreased the activities of cellulases and xylanases by approximately 31%~38% and 54%~60% compared with those of the wild-type (WT) strain, respectively. Besides, GlSwi6 can be alternatively spliced into two isoforms, GlSwi6A and GlSwi6B, and overexpression of GlSwi6B increased the activities of cellulase and xylanase by approximately 50% and 60%, respectively. Further study indicates that the existence of GlSwi6B significantly increased the concentration of cytosolic Ca2+. Our study indicated that GlSwi6 promotes the activities of cellulase and xylanase by regulating the Ca2+ signaling. These results connected the GlSwi6 and Ca2+ signaling in the regulation of cellulose degradation, and provide an insight for further improvement of cellulase or xylanase activities in G. lucidum as well as other fungi.
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Wang Y, Liu R, Liu H, Li X, Shen L, Zhang W, Song X, Liu W, Liu X, Zhong Y. Development of a powerful synthetic hybrid promoter to improve the cellulase system of Trichoderma reesei for efficient saccharification of corncob residues. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:5. [PMID: 34983541 PMCID: PMC8725555 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-021-01727-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is a widely used workhorse for cellulase production in industry due to its prominent secretion capacity of extracellular cellulolytic enzymes. However, some key components are not always sufficient in this cellulase cocktail, making the conversion of cellulose-based biomass costly on the industrial scale. Development of strong and efficient promoters would enable cellulase cocktail to be optimized for bioconversion of biomass. Results In this study, a synthetic hybrid promoter was constructed and applied to optimize the cellulolytic system of T. reesei for efficient saccharification towards corncob residues. Firstly, a series of 5’ truncated promoters in different lengths were established based on the strong constitutive promoter Pcdna1. The strongest promoter amongst them was Pcdna1-3 (− 640 to − 1 bp upstream of the translation initiation codon ATG), exhibiting a 1.4-fold higher activity than that of the native cdna1 promoter. Meanwhile, the activation region (− 821 to − 622 bp upstream of the translation initiation codon ATG and devoid of the Cre1-binding sites) of the strong inducible promoter Pcbh1 was cloned and identified to be an amplifier in initiating gene expression. Finally, this activation region was fused to the strongest promoter Pcdna1-3, generating the novel synthetic hybrid promoter Pcc. This engineered promoter Pcc drove strong gene expression by displaying 1.6- and 1.8-fold stronger fluorescence intensity than Pcbh1 and Pcdna1 under the inducible condition using egfp as the reporter gene, respectively. Furthermore, Pcc was applied to overexpress the Aspergillus niger β-glucosidase BGLA coding gene bglA and the native endoglucanase EG2 coding gene eg2, achieving 43.5-fold BGL activity and 1.2-fold EG activity increase, respectively. Ultimately, to overcome the defects of the native cellulase system in T. reesei, the bglA and eg2 were co-overexpressed under the control of Pcc promoter. The bglA-eg2 double expression strain QPEB70 exhibited a 178% increase in total cellulase activity, whose cellulase system displayed 2.3- and 2.4-fold higher saccharification efficiency towards acid-pretreated and delignified corncob residues than the parental strain, respectively. Conclusions The synthetic hybrid promoter Pcc was generated and employed to improve the cellulase system of T. reesei by expressing specific components. Therefore, construction of synthetic hybrid promoters would allow particular cellulase genes to be expressed at desired levels, which is a viable strategy to optimize the cellulolytic enzyme system for efficient biomass bioconversion. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-021-01727-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruiyan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Hong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Xihai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Linjing Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Weican Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Song
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Weifeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiangmei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yaohua Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
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Sun Y, Qian Y, Zhang J, Yao C, Wang Y, Liu H, Zhong Y. Development of a novel expression platform for heterologous protein production via deleting the p53-like regulator Vib1 in Trichoderma reesei. Enzyme Microb Technol 2022; 155:109993. [DOI: 10.1016/j.enzmictec.2022.109993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Genome-Mediated Methods to Unravel the Native Biogeographical Diversity and Biosynthetic Potential of Trichoderma for Plant Health. Fungal Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-8877-5_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Shen L, Gao J, Wang Y, Li X, Liu H, Zhong Y. Engineering the endoplasmic reticulum secretory pathway in Trichoderma reesei for improved cellulase production. Enzyme Microb Technol 2021; 152:109923. [PMID: 34688089 DOI: 10.1016/j.enzmictec.2021.109923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is an extraordinarily efficient cell factory of industrial cellulase for production of biofuels and other bio-based products because of its excellent potential to secrete cellulolytic enzymes. Engineering the protein secretory pathway may be a powerful means for efficient protein production. However, it is uncertain whether this engineering approach could improve cellulase production in T. reesei. Herein, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) secretory pathway was engineered for the production of cellulolytic enzymes by multiple strategies, including: (I) overexpression of the key components of protein folding (Pdi1, Ero1 and BiP); (II) overexpression of the glycosylation-related elements (Gpt1 and Gls2); (III) knockout of the ER mannosidase I (Mns1) encoding gene mns1. By utilizing these ER engineering strategies, the secretion of β-glucosidase was remarkably elevated in the engineered strains, ranging from 29.2 % to 112.5 %. Furthermore, it was found that engineering these components also regulated the ER stress resistance. More importantly, the total cellulase production was increased with varying degrees, which reached a maximum of 149.4 %, using the filter paper assay (FPA) as a characterization method. These results demonstrated that engineering the ER secretory pathway can enhance protein secretion, particularly for cellulase production, which shed light for the development of high-efficient cellulolytic enzymes for economically feasible bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linjing Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Jia Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Yifan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Xihai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Hong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China.
| | - Yaohua Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China
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Pang AP, Zhang F, Hu X, Luo Y, Wang H, Durrani S, Wu FG, Li BZ, Zhou Z, Lu Z, Lin F. Glutamine involvement in nitrogen regulation of cellulase production in fungi. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2021; 14:199. [PMID: 34645509 PMCID: PMC8513308 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-021-02046-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cellulase synthesized by fungi can environment-friendly and sustainably degrades cellulose to fermentable sugars for producing cellulosic biofuels, biobased medicine and fine chemicals. Great efforts have been made to study the regulation mechanism of cellulase biosynthesis in fungi with the focus on the carbon sources, while little attention has been paid to the impact and regulation mechanism of nitrogen sources on cellulase production. RESULTS Glutamine displayed the strongest inhibition effect on cellulase biosynthesis in Trichoderma reesei, followed by yeast extract, urea, tryptone, ammonium sulfate and L-glutamate. Cellulase production, cell growth and sporulation in T. reesei RUT-C30 grown on cellulose were all inhibited with the addition of glutamine (a preferred nitrogen source) with no change for mycelium morphology. This inhibition effect was attributed to both L-glutamine itself and the nitrogen excess induced by its presence. In agreement with the reduced cellulase production, the mRNA levels of 44 genes related to the cellulase production were decreased severely in the presence of glutamine. The transcriptional levels of genes involved in other nitrogen transport, ribosomal biogenesis and glutamine biosynthesis were decreased notably by glutamine, while the expression of genes relevant to glutamate biosynthesis, amino acid catabolism, and glutamine catabolism were increased noticeably. Moreover, the transcriptional level of cellulose signaling related proteins ooc1 and ooc2, and the cellular receptor of rapamycin trFKBP12 was increased remarkably, whose deletion exacerbated the cellulase depression influence of glutamine. CONCLUSION Glutamine may well be the metabolite effector in nitrogen repression of cellulase synthesis, like the role of glucose plays in carbon catabolite repression. Glutamine under excess nitrogen condition repressed cellulase biosynthesis significantly as well as cell growth and sporulation in T. reesei RUT-C30. More importantly, the presence of glutamine notably impacted the transport and metabolism of nitrogen. Genes ooc1, ooc2, and trFKBP12 are associated with the cellulase repression impact of glutamine. These findings advance our understanding of nitrogen regulation of cellulase production in filamentous fungi, which would aid in the rational design of strains and fermentation strategies for cellulase production in industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai-Ping Pang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Funing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xin Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yongsheng Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Haiyan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Samran Durrani
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Fu-Gen Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Bing-Zhi Li
- Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Zhihua Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Zuhong Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Fengming Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
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Chen Y, Wang W, Liu P, Lin A, Fan X, Wu C, Li N, Wei L, Wei D. The novel repressor Rce2 competes with Ace3 to regulate cellulase gene expression in the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. Mol Microbiol 2021; 116:1298-1314. [PMID: 34608686 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 08/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is widely used for industrial cellulase production. In T. reesei, cellulase gene expression is tightly controlled by a regulatory network involving multiple transcription factors. Here, we isolated a novel protein, Rce2, using a pull-down assay and mass spectrometry analysis, from a partial carbon catabolite de-repression mutant, T. reesei Rut-C30, cultured under glucose-repressing conditions. Deletion and overexpression of Rce2 in T. reesei wild-type QM6a and mutant Rut-C30 revealed that Rce2 acts as a repressor of cellulase gene expression. DNase I footprinting assays, electrophoretic mobility shift assays, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that Rce2 was located in the nucleus and bound to the consensus sequences 5'-(T/A)NNNNCCG-3' and 5'-CGGNNNN(T/A)-3' in the promoters of cellulase-related genes to repress their transcription. Additionally, Rce2 antagonized Ace3 binding to the cbh1 promoter to repress its transcription. However, Rce2 was not involved in Cre1-mediated carbon catabolite repression. These results demonstrate the mechanism through which Rce2 represses the expression of cellulase genes and provide novel insights into the regulatory system of cellulases and methods that can be used for the regulation of gene expression in T. reesei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yumeng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Pei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Aibo Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Xingjia Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Chuan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Ni Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Liujing Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Dongzhi Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
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Havukainen S, Pujol-Giménez J, Valkonen M, Hediger MA, Landowski CP. Functional characterization of a highly specific L-arabinose transporter from Trichoderma reesei. Microb Cell Fact 2021; 20:177. [PMID: 34496831 PMCID: PMC8425032 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-021-01666-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Lignocellulose biomass has been investigated as a feedstock for second generation biofuels and other value-added products. Some of the processes for biofuel production utilize cellulases and hemicellulases to convert the lignocellulosic biomass into a range of soluble sugars before fermentation with microorganisms such as yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. One of these sugars is l-arabinose, which cannot be utilized naturally by yeast. The first step in l-arabinose catabolism is its transport into the cells, and yeast lacks a specific transporter, which could perform this task. Results We identified Trire2_104072 of Trichoderma reesei as a potential l-arabinose transporter based on its expression profile. This transporter was described already in 2007 as d-xylose transporter XLT1. Electrophysiology experiments with Xenopus laevis oocytes and heterologous expression in yeast revealed that Trire2_104072 is a high-affinity l-arabinose symporter with a Km value in the range of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\sim$$\end{document}∼ 0.1–0.2 mM. It can also transport d-xylose but with low affinity (Km\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\sim$$\end{document}∼ 9 mM). In yeast, l-arabinose transport was inhibited slightly by d-xylose but not by d-glucose in an assay with fivefold excess of the inhibiting sugar. Comparison with known l-arabinose transporters revealed that the expression of Trire2_104072 enabled yeast to uptake l-arabinose at the highest rate in conditions with low extracellular l-arabinose concentration. Despite the high specificity of Trire2_104072 for l-arabinose, the growth of its T. reesei deletion mutant was only affected at low l-arabinose concentrations. Conclusions Due to its high affinity for l-arabinose and low inhibition by d-glucose or d-xylose, Trire2_104072 could serve as a good candidate for improving the existing pentose-utilizing yeast strains. The discovery of a highly specific l-arabinose transporter also adds to our knowledge of the primary metabolism of T. reesei. The phenotype of the deletion strain suggests the involvement of other transporters in l-arabinose transport in this species. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-021-01666-4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sami Havukainen
- VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd, Tietotie 2, 02150, Espoo, Finland
| | - Jonai Pujol-Giménez
- Membrane Transport Discovery Lab, Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 15, 3010, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Biomedical Research, Inselspital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 15, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Mari Valkonen
- VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd, Tietotie 2, 02150, Espoo, Finland
| | - Matthias A Hediger
- Membrane Transport Discovery Lab, Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 15, 3010, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Biomedical Research, Inselspital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 15, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
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Mondal S, Halder SK, Mondal KC. Tailoring in fungi for next generation cellulase production with special reference to CRISPR/CAS system. SYSTEMS MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOMANUFACTURING 2021; 2:113-129. [PMID: 38624901 PMCID: PMC8319711 DOI: 10.1007/s43393-021-00045-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Cellulose is the utmost plenteous source of biopolymer in our earth, and fungi are the most efficient and ubiquitous organism in degrading the cellulosic biomass by synthesizing cellulases. Tailoring through genetic manipulation has played a substantial role in constructing novel fungal strains towards improved cellulase production of desired traits. However, the traditional methods of genetic manipulation of fungi are time-consuming and tedious. With the availability of the full-genome sequences of several industrially relevant filamentous fungi, CRISPR-CAS (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein) technology has come into the focus for the proficient development of manipulated strains of filamentous fungi. This review summarizes the mode of action of cellulases, transcription level regulation for cellulase expression, various traditional strategies of genetic manipulation with CRISPR-CAS technology to develop modified fungal strains for a preferred level of cellulase production, and the futuristic trend in this arena of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Subhadeep Mondal
- Center for Life Sciences, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, 721102 West Bengal India
| | - Suman Kumar Halder
- Department of Microbiology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, 721102 West Bengal India
| | - Keshab Chandra Mondal
- Department of Microbiology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, 721102 West Bengal India
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Chen X, Song B, Liu M, Qin L, Dong Z. Understanding the Role of Trichoderma reesei Vib1 in Gene Expression during Cellulose Degradation. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:jof7080613. [PMID: 34436152 PMCID: PMC8397228 DOI: 10.3390/jof7080613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Vib1, a member of the Ndt80/PhoG-like transcription factor family, has been shown to be essential for cellulase production of Trichoderma reesei. Here, we combined transcriptomic and genetic analyses to gain mechanistic insights into the roles of Vib1 during cellulose degradation. Our transcriptome analysis showed that the vib1 deletion caused 586 genes with decreased expression and 431 genes with increased expression on cellulose. The downregulated genes were enriched for Gene Ontology terms associated with carbohydrate metabolism, transmembrane transport, oxidoreductase activity, and transcription factor activity. Of the 258 genes induced by cellulose, 229 showed no or decreased expression in Δvib1 on cellulose, including almost all (hemi)cellulase genes, crucial sugar transporter genes (IDs:69957, 3405), and the genes encoding main transcriptional activators Xyr1 and Ace3. Additionally, Vib1 also regulated the expression of genes involved in secondary metabolism. Further comparison of the transcriptomes of Δvib1 and Δxyr1 in cellulose revealed that the genes regulated by Vib1 had much overlap with Xyr1 targets especially for the gene set induced by cellulose, presumably whose expression requires the cooperativity between Vib1 and Xyr1. Genetic evidence indicated that Vib1 regulates cellulase gene expression partially via Xyr1. Our results will provide new clues for strain improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuzhen Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (X.C.); (B.S.); (M.L.)
| | - Bingran Song
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (X.C.); (B.S.); (M.L.)
| | - Minglu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (X.C.); (B.S.); (M.L.)
| | - Lina Qin
- National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microbiology and Fermentation Technology, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China;
| | - Zhiyang Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (X.C.); (B.S.); (M.L.)
- Correspondence:
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Fang H, Li C, Zhao J, Zhao C. Biotechnological Advances and Trends in Engineering Trichoderma reesei towards Cellulase Hyperproducer. BIOTECHNOL BIOPROC E 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12257-020-0243-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Havukainen S, Pujol-Giménez J, Valkonen M, Westerholm-Parvinen A, Hediger MA, Landowski CP. Electrophysiological characterization of a diverse group of sugar transporters from Trichoderma reesei. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14678. [PMID: 34282161 PMCID: PMC8290022 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93552-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Trichoderma reesei is an ascomycete fungus known for its capability to secrete high amounts of extracellular cellulose- and hemicellulose-degrading enzymes. These enzymes are utilized in the production of second-generation biofuels and T. reesei is a well-established host for their production. Although this species has gained considerable interest in the scientific literature, the sugar transportome of T. reesei remains poorly characterized. Better understanding of the proteins involved in the transport of different sugars could be utilized for engineering better enzyme production strains. In this study we aimed to shed light on this matter by characterizing multiple T. reesei transporters capable of transporting various types of sugars. We used phylogenetics to select transporters for expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes to screen for transport activities. Of the 18 tested transporters, 8 were found to be functional in oocytes. 10 transporters in total were investigated in oocytes and in yeast, and for 3 of them no transport function had been described in literature. This comprehensive analysis provides a large body of new knowledge about T. reesei sugar transporters, and further establishes X. laevis oocytes as a valuable tool for studying fungal sugar transporters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sami Havukainen
- Protein Production Team, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd, Tietotie 2, 02150, Espoo, Finland
| | - Jonai Pujol-Giménez
- Membrane Transport Discovery Lab, Department of Biomedical Research, Inselspital, University of Bern, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Mari Valkonen
- Protein Production Team, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd, Tietotie 2, 02150, Espoo, Finland
| | - Ann Westerholm-Parvinen
- Protein Production Team, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd, Tietotie 2, 02150, Espoo, Finland
| | - Matthias A Hediger
- Membrane Transport Discovery Lab, Department of Biomedical Research, Inselspital, University of Bern, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christopher P Landowski
- Protein Production Team, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd, Tietotie 2, 02150, Espoo, Finland.
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Trichoderma reesei ACE4, a Novel Transcriptional Activator Involved in the Regulation of Cellulase Genes during Growth on Cellulose. Appl Environ Microbiol 2021; 87:e0059321. [PMID: 34047636 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00593-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is a model strain for cellulase production. Cellulase gene expression in T. reesei is controlled by multiple transcription factors. Here, we identified by comparative genomic screening a novel transcriptional activator, ACE4 (activator of cellulase expression 4), that positively regulates cellulase gene expression on cellulose in T. reesei. Disruption of the ace4 gene significantly decreased expression of four main cellulase genes and the essential cellulase transcription factor-encoding gene ace3. Overexpression of ace4 increased cellulase production by approximately 22% compared to that in the parental strain. Further investigations using electrophoretic mobility shift assays, DNase I footprinting assays, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays indicated that ACE4 directly binds to the promoter of cellulase genes by recognizing the two adjacent 5'-GGCC-3' sequences. Additionally, ACE4 directly binds to the promoter of ace3 and, in turn, regulates the expression of ACE3 to facilitate cellulase production. Collectively, these results demonstrate an important role for ACE4 in regulating cellulase gene expression, which will contribute to understanding the mechanism underlying cellulase expression in T. reesei. IMPORTANCE T. reesei is commonly utilized in industry to produce cellulases, enzymes that degrade lignocellulosic biomass for the production of bioethanol and bio-based products. T. reesei is capable of rapidly initiating the biosynthesis of cellulases in the presence of cellulose, which has made it useful as a model fungus for studying gene expression in eukaryotes. Cellulase gene expression is controlled through multiple transcription factors at the transcriptional level. However, the molecular mechanisms by which transcription is controlled remain unclear. In the present study, we identified a novel transcription factor, ACE4, which regulates cellulase expression on cellulose by binding to the promoters of cellulase genes and the cellulase activator gene ace3. Our study not only expands the general functional understanding of the novel transcription factor ACE4 but also provides evidence for the regulatory mechanism mediating gene expression in T. reesei.
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Ammonium Ions Induce Cellulase Synthesis in Trichoderma koningii. Curr Microbiol 2021; 78:3201-3211. [PMID: 34213616 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-021-02568-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Cellulase plays an important role in addressing the issue of the energy crisis. However, the yield and degradation efficiency of cellulase remain a major challenge. In the present study, we aimed to verify whether ammonium ion (NH4+) could induce cellulase synthesis from T. koningii AS3.2774 and to explore new functional genes related to the cellulase production. Our results indicated that NH4+ induces cellulase production in a way different from nitrogen sources. NH4+-mediated mycelia displayed a significant increase in transport vesicles. Under NH4+ mediation, CBHI, CBHII, glycoside hydrolase family 5 proteins, Hap2/3/5 complexes, "ribosome biogenesis", and "heme binding" were significantly up-regulated, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mainly involved in "Metabolism". Collectively, our findings illustrated that NH4+ induced the cellulase production at morphological and gene expression levels, which might be related to the Hap2/3/5 complex, ribosomes, and genes involved in various amino acid metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. Taken together, our results provided valuable insights into the regulatory network of cellulase gene expression in filamentous fungi.
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