RNAseq reveals hydrophobins that are involved in the adaptation of Aspergillus nidulans to lignocellulose

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Brown, N. A., Ries, L. N. A., Reis, T. F., Rajendran, R., Correa dos Santos, R. A., Ramage, G., Riano-Pachon, D. M. and Goldman, G. H. 2016. RNAseq reveals hydrophobins that are involved in the adaptation of Aspergillus nidulans to lignocellulose. Biotechnology for Biofuels. 9, p. 145. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-016-0558-2

AuthorsBrown, N. A., Ries, L. N. A., Reis, T. F., Rajendran, R., Correa dos Santos, R. A., Ramage, G., Riano-Pachon, D. M. and Goldman, G. H.
Abstract

Sugarcane is one of the world’s most profitable crops. Waste steam-exploded sugarcane bagasse (SEB) is a cheap, abundant, and renewable lignocellulosic feedstock for the next-generation biofuels. In nature, fungi seldom exist as planktonic cells, similar to those found in the nutrient-rich environment created within an industrial fermenter. Instead, fungi predominantly form biofilms that allow them to thrive in hostile environments.

Results
In turn, we adopted an RNA-sequencing approach to interrogate how the model fungus, Aspergillus nidulans, adapts to SEB, revealing the induction of carbon starvation responses and the lignocellulolytic machinery, in addition to morphological adaptations. Genetic analyses showed the importance of hydrophobins for growth on SEB. The major hydrophobin, RodA, was retained within the fungal biofilm on SEB fibres. The StuA transcription factor that regulates fungal morphology was up-regulated during growth on SEB and controlled hydrophobin gene induction. The absence of the RodA or DewC hydrophobins reduced biofilm formation. The loss of a RodA or a functional StuA reduced the retention of the hydrolytic enzymes within the vicinity of the fungus. Hence, hydrophobins promote biofilm formation on SEB, and may enhance lignocellulose utilisation via promoting a compact substrate-enzyme-fungus structure.

Conclusion
This novel study highlights the importance of hydrophobins to the formation of biofilms and the efficient deconstruction of lignocellulose.

KeywordsFungi; Biofilm; Hydrophobin; Hydrolytic enzymes; Sugarcane bagasse
Year of Publication2016
JournalBiotechnology for Biofuels
Journal citation9, p. 145
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-016-0558-2
PubMed ID27437031
PubMed Central IDPMC4950808
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeWheat
Do G-protein coupled receptors regulate pathogenesis and mycotoxin biosynthesis in filamentous phytopathogenic fungi?
Pathogen-Host Interactions Database: PHI Database [2012-2017]
PhytoPath, an infrastructure for hundreds of plant pathogen genomes
PhytoPath: an Integrated resource for comparative phytopathogen genomics [2011-2014]
Unknown Project: 2983
Publisher's version
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online19 Jul 2016
Publication process dates
Accepted24 Jun 2016
PublisherBMC
Biomed Central Ltd
Copyright licenseCC BY
ISSN1754-6834

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