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Nielsen MR, Sørensen T, Pedersen TB, Westphal KR, Díaz Fernández De Quincoces L, Sondergaard TE, Wimmer R, Brown DW, Sørensen JL. Final piece to the Fusarium pigmentation puzzle - Unraveling of the phenalenone biosynthetic pathway responsible for perithecial pigmentation in the Fusarium solani species complex. Fungal Genet Biol 2024; 174:103912. [PMID: 39004163 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2024.103912] [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] [Received: 04/18/2024] [Revised: 06/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
The Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC) is comprised of important pathogens of plants and humans. A distinctive feature of FSSC species is perithecial pigmentation. While the dark perithecial pigments of other Fusarium species are derived from fusarubins synthesized by polyketide synthase 3 (PKS3), the perithecial pigments of FSSC are derived from an unknown metabolite synthesized by PKS35. Here, we confirm in FSSC species Fusarium vanettenii that PKS35 (fsnI) is required for perithecial pigment synthesis by deletion analysis and that fsnI is closely related to phnA from Penicillium herquei, as well as duxI from Talaromyces stipentatus, which produce prephenalenone as an early intermediate in herqueinone and duclauxin synthesis respectively. The production of prephenalenone by expression of fsnI in Saccharomyces cerevisiae indicates that it is also an early intermediate in perithecial pigment synthesis. We next identified a conserved cluster of 10 genes flanking fsnI in F. vanettenii that when expressed in F. graminearum led to the production of a novel corymbiferan lactone F as a likely end product of the phenalenone biosynthetic pathway in FSSC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikkel Rank Nielsen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Niels Bohrs Vej 8A, 6700 Esbjerg, Denmark
| | - Trine Sørensen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Tobias Bruun Pedersen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Niels Bohrs Vej 8A, 6700 Esbjerg, Denmark
| | - Klaus Ringsborg Westphal
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | | | - Teis Esben Sondergaard
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Reinhard Wimmer
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Daren W Brown
- National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1815 N University St. Peoria IL 61604, United States of America
| | - Jens Laurids Sørensen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Niels Bohrs Vej 8A, 6700 Esbjerg, Denmark.
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Krska T, Twaruschek K, Wiesenberger G, Berthiller F, Adam G. Mechanism of Fumonisin Self-Resistance: Fusarium verticillioides Contains Four Fumonisin B 1-Insensitive-Ceramide Synthases. Toxins (Basel) 2024; 16:235. [PMID: 38922130 PMCID: PMC11209526 DOI: 10.3390/toxins16060235] [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: 04/23/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Fusarium verticillioides produces fumonisins, which are mycotoxins inhibiting sphingolipid biosynthesis in humans, animals, and other eukaryotes. Fumonisins are presumed virulence factors of plant pathogens, but may also play a role in interactions between competing fungi. We observed higher resistance to added fumonisin B1 (FB1) in fumonisin-producing Fusarium verticillioides than in nonproducing F. graminearum, and likewise between isolates of Aspergillus and Alternaria differing in production of sphinganine-analog toxins. It has been reported that in F. verticillioides, ceramide synthase encoded in the fumonisin biosynthetic gene cluster is responsible for self-resistance. We reinvestigated the role of FUM17 and FUM18 by generating a double mutant strain in a fum1 background. Nearly unchanged resistance to added FB1 was observed compared to the parental fum1 strain. A recently developed fumonisin-sensitive baker's yeast strain allowed for the testing of candidate ceramide synthases by heterologous expression. The overexpression of the yeast LAC1 gene, but not LAG1, increased fumonisin resistance. High-level resistance was conferred by FUM18, but not by FUM17. Likewise, strong resistance to FB1 was caused by overexpression of the presumed F. verticillioides "housekeeping" ceramide synthases CER1, CER2, and CER3, located outside the fumonisin cluster, indicating that F. verticillioides possesses a redundant set of insensitive targets as a self-resistance mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Krska
- Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, BOKU University, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria; (T.K.); (K.T.); (G.W.)
- Austrian Competence Centre for Feed and Food Quality, Safety and Innovation FFoQSI GmbH, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Krisztian Twaruschek
- Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, BOKU University, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria; (T.K.); (K.T.); (G.W.)
- Austrian Competence Centre for Feed and Food Quality, Safety and Innovation FFoQSI GmbH, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Gerlinde Wiesenberger
- Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, BOKU University, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria; (T.K.); (K.T.); (G.W.)
- Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, Department of Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), BOKU University, Konrad Lorenz Strasse 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria;
| | - Franz Berthiller
- Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, Department of Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), BOKU University, Konrad Lorenz Strasse 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria;
| | - Gerhard Adam
- Institute of Microbial Genetics, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, BOKU University, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria; (T.K.); (K.T.); (G.W.)
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3
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Shi TQ, Yang CL, Li DX, Wang YT, Nie ZK. Establishment of a selectable marker recycling system for iterative gene editing in Fusarium fujikuroi. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2024; 9:159-164. [PMID: 38333054 PMCID: PMC10850856 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2024.01.010] [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: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Gibberellic acid (GA3) is a vital plant growth hormone widely used in agriculture. Currently, GA3 production relies on liquid fermentation by the filamentous fungus Fusarium fujikuroi. However, the lack of an effective selection marker recycling system hampers the application of metabolic engineering technology in F. fujikuroi, as multiple-gene editing and positive-strain screening still rely on a limited number of antibiotics. In this study, we developed a strategy using pyr4-blaster and CRISPR/Cas9 tools for recycling orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase (Pyr4) selection markers. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this method for iterative gene integration and large gene-cluster deletion. We also successfully improved GA3 titers by overexpressing geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase and truncated 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase, which rewired the GA3 biosynthesis pathway. These results highlight the efficiency of our established system in recycling selection markers during iterative gene editing events. Moreover, the selection marker recycling system lays the foundation for further research on metabolic engineering for GA3 industrial production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian-Qiong Shi
- Jiangxi New Reyphon Biochemical Co., Ltd, Salt & Chemical Industry, Xingan, Jiangxi, 331399, People’s Republic of China
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China
| | - Cai-Ling Yang
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China
| | - Dong-Xun Li
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yue-Tong Wang
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhi-Kui Nie
- Jiangxi New Reyphon Biochemical Co., Ltd, Salt & Chemical Industry, Xingan, Jiangxi, 331399, People’s Republic of China
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China
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Yamada K, Yamamoto T, Uwasa K, Osakabe K, Takano Y. The establishment of multiple knockout mutants of Colletotrichum orbiculare by CRISPR-Cas9 and Cre-loxP systems. Fungal Genet Biol 2023; 165:103777. [PMID: 36669556 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2023.103777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Colletotrichum orbiculare is employed as a model fungus to analyze molecular aspects of plant-fungus interactions. Although gene disruption via homologous recombination (HR) was established for C. orbiculare, this approach is laborious due to its low efficiency. Here we developed methods to generate multiple knockout mutants of C. orbiculare efficiently. We first found that CRISPR-Cas9 system massively promoted gene-targeting efficiency. By transiently introducing a CRISPR-Cas9 vector, more than 90% of obtained transformants were knockout mutants. Furthermore, we optimized a self-excision Cre-loxP marker recycling system for C. orbiculare because a limited availability of desired selective markers hampers sequential gene disruption. In this system, the integrated selective marker is removable from the genome via Cre recombinase driven by a xylose-inducible promoter, enabling the reuse of the same selective marker for the next transformation. Using our CRISPR-Cas9 and Cre-loxP systems, we attempted to identify functional sugar transporters involved in fungal virulence. Multiple disruptions of putative quinate transporter genes restricted fungal growth on media containing quinate as a sole carbon source, confirming their functionality as quinate transporters. However, our analyses showed that quinate acquisition was dispensable for infection to host plants. In addition, we successfully built mutations of 17 cellobiose transporter genes in a strain. From the data of knockout mutants that we established in this study, we inferred that repetitive rounds of gene disruption using CRISPR-Cas9 and Cre-loxP systems do not cause adverse effects on fungal virulence and growth. Therefore, these systems will be powerful tools to perform a systematic loss-of-function approach for C. orbiculare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kohji Yamada
- Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan; JST, PRESTO, Kawaguchi, Japan.
| | - Toya Yamamoto
- Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan
| | - Kanon Uwasa
- Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan
| | - Keishi Osakabe
- Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan
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Seidl B, Rehak K, Bueschl C, Parich A, Buathong R, Wolf B, Doppler M, Mitterbauer R, Adam G, Khewkhom N, Wiesenberger G, Schuhmacher R. Gramiketides, Novel Polyketide Derivatives of Fusarium graminearum, Are Produced during the Infection of Wheat. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:1030. [PMID: 36294594 PMCID: PMC9605136 DOI: 10.3390/jof8101030] [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: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The plant pathogen Fusarium graminearum is a proficient producer of mycotoxins and other in part still unknown secondary metabolites, some of which might act as virulence factors on wheat. The PKS15 gene is expressed only in planta, so far hampering the identification of an associated metabolite. Here we combined the activation of silent gene clusters by chromatin manipulation (kmt6) with blocking the metabolic flow into the competing biosynthesis of the two major mycotoxins deoxynivalenol and zearalenone. Using an untargeted metabolomics approach, two closely related metabolites were found in triple mutants (kmt6 tri5 pks4,13) deficient in production of the major mycotoxins deoxynivalenol and zearalenone, but not in strains with an additional deletion in PKS15 (kmt6 tri5 pks4,13 pks15). Characterization of the metabolites, by LC-HRMS/MS in combination with a stable isotope-assisted tracer approach, revealed that they are likely hybrid polyketides comprising a polyketide part consisting of malonate-derived acetate units and a structurally deviating part. We propose the names gramiketide A and B for the two metabolites. In a biological experiment, both gramiketides were formed during infection of wheat ears with wild-type but not with pks15 mutants. The formation of the two gramiketides during infection correlated with that of the well-known virulence factor deoxynivalenol, suggesting that they might play a role in virulence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Seidl
- Department of Agrobiotechnology IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Katrin Rehak
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Microbial Genetics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Christoph Bueschl
- Department of Agrobiotechnology IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Alexandra Parich
- Department of Agrobiotechnology IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Raveevatoo Buathong
- Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Ngamwongwan Road, Lat Yao, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
| | - Bernhard Wolf
- Department of Agrobiotechnology IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Maria Doppler
- Department of Agrobiotechnology IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
- Core Facility Bioactive Molecules: Screening and Analysis, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Rudolf Mitterbauer
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Microbial Genetics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Gerhard Adam
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Microbial Genetics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Netnapis Khewkhom
- Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Ngamwongwan Road, Lat Yao, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
| | - Gerlinde Wiesenberger
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Microbial Genetics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Rainer Schuhmacher
- Department of Agrobiotechnology IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
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6
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Sarmiento-Villamil JL, de Oliveira TC, Naruzawa ES, Bernier L. An Efficient Strategy for Obtaining Mutants by Targeted Gene Deletion in Ophiostoma novo-ulmi. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:699783. [PMID: 34335533 PMCID: PMC8317267 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.699783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The dimorphic fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi is the highly aggressive pathogen responsible for the current, highly destructive, pandemic of Dutch elm disease (DED). Genome and transcriptome analyses of this pathogen previously revealed that a large set of genes expressed during dimorphic transition were also potentially related to plant infection processes, which seem to be regulated by molecular mechanisms different from those described in other dimorphic pathogens. Then, O. novo-ulmi can be used as a representative species to study the lifestyle of dimorphic pathogenic fungi that are not shared by the "model species" Candida albicans and Ustilago maydis. In order to gain better knowledge of molecular aspects underlying infection process and symptom induction by dimorphic fungi that cause vascular wilt disease, we developed a high-throughput gene deletion protocol for O. novo-ulmi. The protocol is based on transforming a Δmus52 O. novo-ulmi mutant impaired for non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) as the recipient strain, and transforming this strain with the latest version of OSCAR plasmids. The latter are used for generating deletion constructs containing the toxin-coding Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene which prevents ectopic integration of the T-DNA in Ophiostoma DNA. The frequency of gene deletion by homologous recombination (HR) at the ade1 locus associated with purine nucleotide biosynthesis was up to 77.8% in the Δmus52 mutant compared to 2% in the wild-type (WT). To validate the high efficiency of our deletion gene methodology we deleted ade7, which also belongs to the purine nucleotide pathway, as well as bct2, ogf1, and opf2 which encode fungal binuclear transcription factors (TFs). The frequency of gene replacement by HR for these genes reached up to 94%. We expect that our methodology combining the use of NHEJ deficient strains and OSCAR plasmids will function with similar high efficiencies for other O. novo-ulmi genes and other filamentous fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Luis Sarmiento-Villamil
- Centre d’Étude de la Forêt (CEF) and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Thais Campos de Oliveira
- Centre d’Étude de la Forêt (CEF) and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Erika Sayuri Naruzawa
- Centre d’Étude de la Forêt (CEF) and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Collège Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick, Réseau CCNB-INNOV, Grand Falls, NB, Canada
| | - Louis Bernier
- Centre d’Étude de la Forêt (CEF) and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
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Identification and Functional Characterization of the Gene Cluster Responsible for Fusaproliferin Biosynthesis in Fusarium proliferatum. Toxins (Basel) 2021; 13:toxins13070468. [PMID: 34357940 PMCID: PMC8310001 DOI: 10.3390/toxins13070468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The emerging mycotoxin fusaproliferin is produced by Fusarium proliferatum and other related Fusarium species. Several fungi from other taxonomic groups were also reported to produce fusaproliferin or the deacetylated derivative, known as siccanol or terpestacin. Here, we describe the identification and functional characterization of the Fusarium proliferatum genes encoding the fusaproliferin biosynthetic enzymes: a terpenoid synthase, two cytochrome P450s, a FAD-oxidase and an acetyltransferase. With the exception of one gene encoding a CYP450 (FUP2, FPRN_05484), knock-out mutants of the candidate genes could be generated, and the production of fusaproliferin and intermediates was tested by LC-MS/MS. Inactivation of the FUP1 (FPRN_05485) terpenoid synthase gene led to complete loss of fusaproliferin production. Disruption of a putative FAD-oxidase (FUP4, FPRN_05486) did not only affect oxidation of preterpestacin III to terpestacin, but also of new side products (11-oxo-preterpstacin and terpestacin aldehyde). In the knock-out strains lacking the predicted acetyltransferase (FUP5, FPRN_05487) fusaproliferin was no longer formed, but terpestacin was found at elevated levels. A model for the biosynthesis of fusaproliferin and of novel derivatives found in mutants is presented.
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Sun R, Xu H, Feng Y, Hou X, Zhu T, Che Q, Pfeifer B, Zhang G, Li D. An efficient marker recycling system for sequential gene deletion in a deep sea-derived fungus Acremonium sp. HDN16-126. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2021; 6:127-133. [PMID: 34141909 PMCID: PMC8187431 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2021.05.001] [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: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Acremonium species are prolific producers of therapeutic molecules which include the widely used beta-lactam antibiotic, cephalosporin. In light of their significant medical value, an efficient gene disruption method is required for the physiological and biochemical studies on this genus of fungi. However, the number of selection markers that can be used for gene targeting is limited, which constrain the genetic analysis of multiple functional genes. In this study, we established a uridine auxotrophy based marker recycling system which achieves scarless gene deletion, and allows the use of the same selection marker in successive transformations in a deep sea-derived fungus Acremonium sp. HDN16-126. We identified one homologue of Acremonium chrysogenum pyrG (also as a homologous gene of the yeast URA3) from HDN16-126, designated as pyrG-A1, which can be used as a selection marker on uridine free medium. We then removed pyrG-A1 from HDN16-126 genome via homologous recombination (HR) on MM medium with 5-fluoroortic acid (5-FOA), a chemical that can be converted into a toxin of 5-flurouracil by pyrG-A1 activity, thus generating the HDN16-126-△pyrG mutant strain which showed auxotrophy for uridine but insensitivity to 5-FOA and enabled the use of exogenous pyrG gene as both positive and negative selection marker to achieve the scarless deletion of target DNA fragments. We further applied this marker recycling system to successfully disrupt two target genes pepL (encodes a putative 2OG-Fe (II) dioxygenase) and pepM (encodes a putative aldolase) identified from HDN16-126 genome, which are proposed to be functional genes related to 2-aminoisobutyric acid metabolism in fungi. This work is the first application of uridine auxotrophy based scarless gene deletion method in Acremonium species and shows promising potential in assisting sequential genetic analysis of filamentous fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruonan Sun
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People's Republic of China
| | - Hengyi Xu
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanyan Feng
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People's Republic of China
| | - Xuewen Hou
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianjiao Zhu
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People's Republic of China
| | - Qian Che
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People's Republic of China
| | - Blaine Pfeifer
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, United States
| | - Guojian Zhang
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People's Republic of China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
- Corresponding author. School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People's Republic of China.
| | - Dehai Li
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, People's Republic of China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
- Corresponding author. Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
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Cen YK, Lin JG, Wang YL, Wang JY, Liu ZQ, Zheng YG. The Gibberellin Producer Fusarium fujikuroi: Methods and Technologies in the Current Toolkit. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:232. [PMID: 32292777 PMCID: PMC7118215 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in research interests on the Fusarium species, which includes prevalent plant pathogens and human pathogens, common microbial food contaminants and industrial microbes. Taken the advantage of gibberellin synthesis, Fusarium fujikuroi succeed in being a prevalent plant pathogen. At the meanwhile, F. fujikuroi was utilized for industrial production of gibberellins, a group of extensively applied phytohormone. F. fujikuroi has been known for its outstanding performance in gibberellin production for almost 100 years. Research activities relate to this species has lasted for a very long period. The slow development in biological investigation of F. fujikuroi is largely due to the lack of efficient research technologies and molecular tools. During the past decade, technologies to analyze the molecular basis of host-pathogen interactions and metabolic regulations have been developed rapidly, especially on the aspects of genetic manipulation. At the meanwhile, the industrial fermentation technologies kept sustained development. In this article, we reviewed the currently available research tools/methods for F. fujikuroi research, focusing on the topics about genetic engineering and gibberellin production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Ke Cen
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Bioconversion and Biopurification of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jian-Guang Lin
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Bioconversion and Biopurification of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - You-Liang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Bioconversion and Biopurification of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jun-You Wang
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Bioconversion and Biopurification of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhi-Qiang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Bioconversion and Biopurification of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yu-Guo Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Bioconversion and Biopurification of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
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Schmitz L, Kronstad JW, Heimel K. Conditional gene expression reveals stage-specific functions of the unfolded protein response in the Ustilago maydis-maize pathosystem. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2020; 21:258-271. [PMID: 31802604 PMCID: PMC6988420 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.12893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Ustilago maydis is a model organism for the study of biotrophic plant-pathogen interactions. The sexual and pathogenic development of the fungus are tightly connected since fusion of compatible haploid sporidia is prerequisite for infection of the host plant, maize (Zea mays). After plant penetration, the unfolded protein response (UPR) is activated and required for biotrophic growth. The UPR is continuously active throughout all stages of pathogenic development in planta. However, since development of UPR deletion mutants stops directly after plant penetration, the role of an active UPR at later stages of development remained to be determined. Here, we established a gene expression system for U. maydis that uses endogenous, conditionally active promoters to either induce or repress expression of a gene of interest during different stages of plant infection. Integration of the expression constructs into the native genomic locus and removal of resistance cassettes were required to obtain a wild-type-like expression pattern. This indicates that genomic localization and chromatin structure are important for correct promoter activity and gene expression. By conditional expression of the central UPR regulator, Cib1, in U. maydis, we show that a functional UPR is required for continuous plant defence suppression after host infection and that U. maydis relies on a robust control system to prevent deleterious UPR hyperactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Schmitz
- Institute for Microbiology and GeneticsDepartment of Molecular Microbiology and GeneticsGöttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB)University of GöttingenGrisebachstr. 8D‐37077GöttingenGermany
- International Research Training Group 2172 PRoTECTGöttingen, VancouverGermany
| | - James W. Kronstad
- International Research Training Group 2172 PRoTECTGöttingen, VancouverGermany
- Michael Smith LaboratoriesDepartment of Microbiology and ImmunologyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCV6T 1Z4Canada
| | - Kai Heimel
- Institute for Microbiology and GeneticsDepartment of Molecular Microbiology and GeneticsGöttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB)University of GöttingenGrisebachstr. 8D‐37077GöttingenGermany
- International Research Training Group 2172 PRoTECTGöttingen, VancouverGermany
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11
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Marente J, Ortega P, Pardo-Medina J, Avalos J, Limón MC. Modulation of Activity of a Carotenoid Pathway Through the Use of the TeT-on Regulatory System: Application in the Fungus Fusarium fujikuroi. Methods Mol Biol 2020; 2083:343-360. [PMID: 31745934 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9952-1_26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Carotenoids are widespread pigments in photosynthetic species, but they are also found in nonphotosynthetic microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. The amenability of fungi to genetic studies have made some fungal species advantageous models in the study of the genetics and biochemistry of carotenoid biosynthesis, while others have been used for biotechnological carotenoid production. The availability of molecular techniques that allow modulating the expression of target genes is a powerful tool in the manipulation of carotenoid synthesis. An example of an adjustable gene expression is based on the tetracycline-controlled transcriptional activation system, known as Tet-on. We describe here the material and protocols for the construction of a Tet-on regulated gene, its introduction in the filamentous fungus F. fujikuroi, and its use to modulate the expression of a negative regulator of carotenoid biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Marente
- Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Pedro Ortega
- Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
- Centro Andaluz de Biología Molecular y Medicina Regenerativa-CABIMER, Seville, Spain
| | - Javier Pardo-Medina
- Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Javier Avalos
- Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - M Carmen Limón
- Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.
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Liu Q, Zhang Y, Li F, Li J, Sun W, Tian C. Upgrading of efficient and scalable CRISPR-Cas-mediated technology for genetic engineering in thermophilic fungus Myceliophthora thermophila. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2019; 12:293. [PMID: 31890021 PMCID: PMC6927189 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-019-1637-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Thermophilic filamentous fungus Myceliophthora thermophila has great capacity for biomass degradation and is an attractive system for direct production of enzymes and chemicals from plant biomass. Its industrial importance inspired us to develop genome editing tools to speed up the genetic engineering of this fungus. First-generation CRISPR-Cas9 technology was developed in 2017 and, since then, some progress has been made in thermophilic fungi genetic engineering, but a number of limitations remain. They include the need for complex independent expression cassettes for targeting multiplex genomic loci and the limited number of available selectable marker genes. RESULTS In this study, we developed an Acidaminococcus sp. Cas12a-based CRISPR system for efficient multiplex genome editing, using a single-array approach in M. thermophila. These CRISPR-Cas12a cassettes worked well for simultaneous multiple gene deletions/insertions. We also developed a new simple approach for marker recycling that relied on the novel cleavage activity of the CRISPR-Cas12a system to make DNA breaks in selected markers. We demonstrated its performance by targeting nine genes involved in the cellulase production pathway in M. thermophila via three transformation rounds, using two selectable markers neo and bar. We obtained the nonuple mutant M9 in which protein productivity and lignocellulase activity were 9.0- and 18.5-fold higher than in the wild type. We conducted a parallel investigation using our transient CRISPR-Cas9 system and found the two technologies were complementary. Together we called them CRISPR-Cas-assisted marker recycling technology (Camr technology). CONCLUSIONS Our study described new approaches (Camr technology) that allow easy and efficient marker recycling and iterative stacking of traits in the same thermophilic fungus strain either, using the newly established CRISPR-Cas12a system or the established CRISPR-Cas9 system. This Camr technology will be a versatile and efficient tool for engineering, theoretically, an unlimited number of genes in fungi. We expect this advance to accelerate biotechnology-oriented engineering processes in fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308 China
| | - Yongli Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308 China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China
| | - Fangya Li
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308 China
| | - Jingen Li
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308 China
| | - Wenliang Sun
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308 China
| | - Chaoguang Tian
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308 China
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Heterologous expression of intact biosynthetic gene clusters in Fusarium graminearum. Fungal Genet Biol 2019; 132:103248. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2019.103248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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14
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Svoboda T, Parich A, Güldener U, Schöfbeck D, Twaruschek K, Václavíková M, Hellinger R, Wiesenberger G, Schuhmacher R, Adam G. Biochemical Characterization of the Fusarium graminearum Candidate ACC-Deaminases and Virulence Testing of Knockout Mutant Strains. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:1072. [PMID: 31552072 PMCID: PMC6746940 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Fusarium graminearum is a plant pathogenic fungus which is able to infect wheat and other economically important cereal crop species. The role of ethylene in the interaction with host plants is unclear and controversial. We have analyzed the inventory of genes with a putative function in ethylene production or degradation of the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid (ACC). F. graminearum, in contrast to other species, does not contain a candidate gene encoding ethylene-forming enzyme. Three genes with similarity to ACC synthases exist; heterologous expression of these did not reveal enzymatic activity. The F. graminearum genome contains in addition two ACC deaminase candidate genes. We have expressed both genes in E. coli and characterized the enzymatic properties of the affinity-purified products. One of the proteins had indeed ACC deaminase activity, with kinetic properties similar to ethylene-stress reducing enzymes of plant growth promoting bacteria. The other candidate was inactive with ACC but turned out to be a d-cysteine desulfhydrase. Since it had been reported that ethylene insensitivity in transgenic wheat increased Fusarium resistance and reduced the content of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) in infected wheat, we generated single and double knockout mutants of both genes in the F. graminearum strain PH-1. No statistically significant effect of the gene disruptions on fungal spread or mycotoxin content was detected, indicating that the ability of the fungus to manipulate the production of the gaseous plant hormones ethylene and H2S is dispensable for full virulence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Svoboda
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Tulln, Austria
| | - Alexandra Parich
- BOKU, Department for Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, Tulln, Austria
| | - Ulrich Güldener
- Department of Bioinformatics, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Denise Schöfbeck
- BOKU, Department for Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, Tulln, Austria
| | - Krisztian Twaruschek
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Tulln, Austria
| | - Marta Václavíková
- BOKU, Department for Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, Tulln, Austria
| | - Roland Hellinger
- BOKU, Department for Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, Tulln, Austria
| | - Gerlinde Wiesenberger
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Tulln, Austria
| | - Rainer Schuhmacher
- BOKU, Department for Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, Tulln, Austria
| | - Gerhard Adam
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Tulln, Austria
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15
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Strategies for gene disruption and expression in filamentous fungi. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 103:6041-6059. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-09953-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Revised: 05/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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16
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Nielsen MR, Sondergaard TE, Giese H, Sørensen JL. Advances in linking polyketides and non-ribosomal peptides to their biosynthetic gene clusters in Fusarium. Curr Genet 2019; 65:1263-1280. [DOI: 10.1007/s00294-019-00998-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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