TY - JOUR
T1 - RNAseq reveals hydrophobins that are involved in the adaptation of Aspergillus nidulans to lignocellulose
AU - Brown, Neil Andrew
AU - Ries, Laure N.A.
AU - Reis, Thaila F.
AU - Rajendran, Ranjith
AU - Corrêa Dos Santos, Renato Augusto
AU - Ramage, Gordon
AU - Riaño-Pachón, Diego Mauricio
AU - Goldman, Gustavo H.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) in Brazil for funding this research. Rothamsted Research receives grant‑aided support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sci‑ ences Research Council (BBSRC) UK as part of the 20:20® wheat programme. Neil Brown receives support from the BBSRC National Capability PHI‑base programme [BB/J/004383/1] and the BBSRC Future Leader Fellowship [BB/ N011686/1].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 The Author(s).
PY - 2016/12
Y1 - 2016/12
N2 - Background: 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.
AB - Background: 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.
KW - Biofilm
KW - Fungi
KW - Hydrolytic enzymes
KW - Hydrophobin
KW - Sugarcane bagasse
U2 - 10.1186/s13068-016-0558-2
DO - 10.1186/s13068-016-0558-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84978731898
SN - 1754-6834
VL - 9
JO - Biotechnology for Biofuels
JF - Biotechnology for Biofuels
IS - 1
M1 - 145
ER -