The transcriptional factor Clr-5 is involved in cellulose degradation through regulation of amino acid metabolism in Neurospora crassa
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ABSTRACT: Filamentous fungi are one of the primary degraders of plant biomass because of their ability to produce enzymes that break down complex polysaccharides. The production of cellulolytic enzymes in fungi is dependent on transcription factors. In this article, we identified a N. crassa Zn2Cys6 transcription factor Clr5 that regulates the expression of cellulase on cellulose. N. crassa Δclr5 exhibited a significant decrease in secreted proteins (~46%), endo-glucanase (~55%), xylanase (~33%), β-glucosidase (~38%), and exocellulase (~40%) compared with the WT, while transcriptomic analysis revealed that clr5 was essential in cellulase expression. We also determined that clr5 is crucial in amino acid- Leucine and Histidine metabolism. When using Leucine or Histidine as solo nitrogen source, Δclr5 strain cannot grow as normally as WT, and the expression of most CAZyme genes were reduced obviously, which indicated nitrogen metabolism played an important role in cellulose degradation. Moreover, the function of Clr5 is conservative in M. thermophila, the other fungi with a capacity for biomass degradation.
Project description:Fungal degradation of lignocellulosic biomass requires various (hemi-)cellulases and plays key roles in biological carbon cycle. Although cellulases induction recently described in some saprobic filamentous fungi, regulation of cellulase transcription has not been studied thoroughly. Here, we identified and characterized the novel cellulase regulation factors clr-4 in Neurospora crassa and its ortholog Mtclr-4 in Myceliophthora thermophila. Deletion of clr-4 and Mtclr-4 displayed similarly defective phenotypes in cellulolytic enzymes production and activities. Transcriptomics analysis of Δclr-4/ΔMtclr-4 revealed down-regulation of not only encoding genes of (hemi-)cellulases and pivotal regulators (clr-1, clr-2 and xyr-1), but also the key genes of cAMP signaling pathway such as adenylate cyclase cr-1. Consistently, the significant decreased levels of intracellular cAMP were observed in Δclr-4/ΔMtclr-4 compared to wild-type during cellulose utilization. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) verified that CLR-4 could directly bind to the promoter regions of adenylyl cyclase (Nccr-1) and cellulose regulator clr-1, while MtCLR-4 bind to upstream regions of adenylyl cyclase Mtcr-1 and biomass deconstruction regulators Mtclr-2 and Mtxyr-1. Concluded, the novel cellulase expression regulators (CLR-4/MtCLR-4) findings here significantly enrich our understanding of the regulatory network of cellulose degradation and provide new targets for industrial fungi strain engineering for plant biomass deconstruction in biorefinery.
Project description:Hemicellulose, the second most abundant plant biomass fraction after cellulose, is widely viewed as a potential feedstock for the production of liquid fuels and other value-added materials. Degradation of hemicellulose by filamentous fungi requires production of many different enzymes, which are induced by biopolymers or its derivatives and regulated mainly at the transcriptional level through transcription factors (TFs). Neurospora crassa has been shown to express and secrete plant cell wall associated enzymes. To better understand genes specifically associated with degradation of hemicellulose, we identified 353 genes by transcriptome analysis of N. crassa wild type strain grown on beechwood xylan. Exposure to xylan induces 9 of the 19 predicted hemicellulase genes. The xylanolytic phenotype of strains with deletions in genes identified from the secretome and transcriptome analysis of wild type showed that none were essential for growth on beechwood xylan. The transcription factor XlnR/Xyr1 in Aspergillus and Trichoderma species is considered to be the major transcriptional regulator of genes encoding both cellulases and hemicellulases. We identified a xlnR/xyr1 homolog in N. crassa, NCU06971, termed xlr-1 (xylanase regulator 1). Deletion of xlr-1 in N. crassa abolishes the growth on xylan and xylose, but growth on cellulose was indistinguishable from wild type. To determine regulatory mechanisms associated with hemicellulose degradation, we explored the transcriptional regulon of XLR-1 under xylose and xylanolytic versus cellulolytic conditions. XLR-1 regulated only some predicted hemicellulase genes in N. crassa and was required for a full induction of several cellulase genes. Hemicellulase gene expression was induced by a combination of release from carbon catabolite repression (CCR) and induction. However, in N. crassa, xlr-1 is subject to non-CRE-1 mediated CCR. This systematic analysis provides the similarities and differences of hemicellulose degradation and regulation mechanisms used by N. crassa in comparison to other filamentous fungi. Four-condition experiments (minimal medium, xylan medium,xylose and Avicel medium) of mutant strain(xlr-1) compared to wild type strain; Cy3 and Cy5 dye swap
Project description:Purpose: To explore conservation of gene regulation by the transcription factor clr-2/clrB in Neurospora crassa and Aspergillus nidulans Methods: mRNA from wild type and clr-2/clrB mutants were collected after a culture shift from sucrose/glucose to Avicel (crystaline cellulose) or no carbon media Results: We show that N. crassa and A. nidulans have similair global transcriptional responses to Avicel, with several hundred genes showing specific induction, though the induced genes are more specifically targeted at cellulose for N. crassa and more targeted at hemicellulose and pectin for A. nidulans. clr-2/clrB has a conserved fundamental function in cellulose induction, though the mechanism has diverged. Misexpression of clr-2 is sufficeint for inducer free cellulase secretion in N. crassa, but neither clrB or heterologous clr-2 is sufficient for inducer free cellulase secretion in A. nidulans. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a conserved and essential role in cellulose utilization for the transcription factor clr-2 in filamentous ascomycetes and demonstrates that manipulation of clr-2 expression can be used to control cellulase expression in some species.
Project description:Purpose: To explore conservation of gene regulation by the transcription factor clr-2/clrB in Neurospora crassa and Aspergillus nidulans Methods: mRNA from wild type and clr-2/clrB mutants were collected after a culture shift from sucrose/glucose to Avicel (crystaline cellulose) or no carbon media Results: We show that N. crassa and A. nidulans have similair global transcriptional responses to Avicel, with several hundred genes showing specific induction, though the induced genes are more specifically targeted at cellulose for N. crassa and more targeted at hemicellulose and pectin for A. nidulans. clr-2/clrB has a conserved fundamental function in cellulose induction, though the mechanism has diverged. Misexpression of clr-2 is sufficeint for inducer free cellulase secretion in N. crassa, but neither clrB or heterologous clr-2 is sufficient for inducer free cellulase secretion in A. nidulans. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a conserved and essential role in cellulose utilization for the transcription factor clr-2 in filamentous ascomycetes and demonstrates that manipulation of clr-2 expression can be used to control cellulase expression in some species. Biological triplicates of liquid culture N. crassa and A. nidulans were harvested at 4 hours and 6 hours, respectively, after a switch to media of interest. Global mRNA abundances from liquid cultures of N. crassa and A. nidulans were measured by sequencing on the Illumina Genome Analyzer IIx and HiSeq2000 platforms.
Project description:Cellulose, particularly the major cellulolytic product cellobiose, can induce the production of enzymes associated with deconstruction of lignocellulose in filamentous fungi. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying this biotechnologically important process remain to be disclosed. Here, the proteome response to cellobiose, crystalline cellulose (Avicel), and carbon starvation of a Neurospora crassa triple β-glucosidase mutant were compared using tandem mass tag (TMT)-based proteome quantification. Improved quantification accuracy was achieved with synchronous precursor selection (SPS)-based MS3 technology compared to MS2 using a high resolution tribrid mass spectrometer. Exposure to carbon starvation, cellobiose or Avicel induced the production of cellulase and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase enzymes in N. crassa, as well as a cellobionic acid transporter, indicating their functional roles in the early adaptation to plant cell wall. In particular, cellobiose specifically induced the production of proteins in the functional categories of protein processing and export as well as cell wall organization. The data presented here integrates the signaling pathway associated with cellobiose transporters CDT-1 and/or CDT-2 with the direct targets of the transcription factors CLR-1, CLR-2, and XLR-1, the unfolded protein response (UPR) mediated by Ire-1/Hac-1, as well as calcium homeostasis and cell wall organization. The cellobiose-dependent response network will be useful for rational strain improvement to facilitate the production of lignocellulases in filamentous fungi and plant biomass-based products.
Project description:Hemicellulose, the second most abundant plant biomass fraction after cellulose, is widely viewed as a potential feedstock for the production of liquid fuels and other value-added materials. Degradation of hemicellulose by filamentous fungi requires production of many different enzymes, which are induced by biopolymers or its derivatives and regulated mainly at the transcriptional level through transcription factors (TFs). Neurospora crassa has been shown to express and secrete plant cell wall associated enzymes. To better understand genes specifically associated with degradation of hemicellulose, we identified 353 genes by transcriptome analysis of N. crassa wild type strain grown on beechwood xylan. Exposure to xylan induces 9 of the 19 predicted hemicellulase genes. The xylanolytic phenotype of strains with deletions in genes identified from the secretome and transcriptome analysis of wild type showed that none were essential for growth on beechwood xylan. The transcription factor XlnR/Xyr1 in Aspergillus and Trichoderma species is considered to be the major transcriptional regulator of genes encoding both cellulases and hemicellulases. We identified a xlnR/xyr1 homolog in N. crassa, NCU06971, termed xlr-1 (xylanase regulator 1). Deletion of xlr-1 in N. crassa abolishes the growth on xylan and xylose, but growth on cellulose was indistinguishable from wild type. To determine regulatory mechanisms associated with hemicellulose degradation, we explored the transcriptional regulon of XLR-1 under xylose and xylanolytic versus cellulolytic conditions. XLR-1 regulated only some predicted hemicellulase genes in N. crassa and was required for a full induction of several cellulase genes. Hemicellulase gene expression was induced by a combination of release from carbon catabolite repression (CCR) and induction. However, in N. crassa, xlr-1 is subject to non-CRE-1 mediated CCR. This systematic analysis provides the similarities and differences of hemicellulose degradation and regulation mechanisms used by N. crassa in comparison to other filamentous fungi.
Project description:CDT-1 and CDT-2 are two cellodextrin transporters discovered in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. Previous studies focused on characterizing the role of these transporters in only a few conditions, including cellulose degradation, and the function of these two transporters is not yet completely understood. In this study, we show that deletion of cdt-2, but not cdt-1, results in growth defects not only on Avicel but also on xylan. cdt-2 can be highly induced by xylan, and this mutant has a xylodextrin consumption defect. Transcriptomic analysis of the cdt-2 deletion strain on Avicel and xylan showed that major cellulase and hemicellulase genes were significantly down-regulated in the cdt-2 deletion strain and artificial over expression of cdt-2 in N. crassa increased cellulase and hemicellulase production. Together, these data clearly show that CDT-2 plays a critical role in hemicellulose sensing and utilization. This is the first time a sugar transporter has been assigned a function in the hemicellulose degradation pathway. Furthermore, we found that the transcription factor XLR-1 is the major regulator of cdt-2, while cdt-1 is primarily regulated by CLR-1. These results deepen our understanding of the functions of both cellodextrin transporters, particularly for CDT-2. Our study also provides novel insight into the mechanisms for hemicellulose sensing and utilization in N. crassa, and may be applicable to other cellulolytic filamentous fungi. N. crassa was pregrown in Sucrose and transferred to Avicel (cellulose) or Xylan(hemicellulose) media. Up regulated and down regulated genes expressions were compared with wild type strain on two conditions (Avicel and xylan) respectively.
Project description:The regulation of plant biomass degradation by fungi is critical to the carbon cycle, and applications in bioproducts and biocontrol. Trichoderma harzianum is an important plant biomass degrader, enzyme producer, and biocontrol agent, but few putative major transcriptional regulators have been deleted in this species. The T. harzianum ortholog of the transcriptional activator XYR1/XlnR/XLR-1 was deleted, and the mutant strains were analyzed by growth profiling, enzymatic activities, and transcriptomics on cellulose. From plate cultures, the Δxyr1 mutant had reduced growth on D-xylose, xylan, and cellulose, and from shake-flask cultures with cellulose, the Δxyr1 mutant had ~ 90% lower β-glucosidase activity, and no detectable β-xylosidase or cellulase activity. The comparison of the transcriptomes from 18 h shake-flask cultures on D-fructose, without a carbon source, and cellulose, showed major effects of XYR1 deletion whereby the Δxyr1 mutant on cellulose was transcriptionally most similar to the cultures without a carbon source. The cellulose induced 43 plant biomass-degrading CAZymes including xylanases as well as cellulases, and most of these had massively lower expression in the Δxyr1 mutant. Expression of a sub-set of carbon catabolic enzymes, other transcription factors, and sugar transporters was also lower in the Δxyr1 mutant on cellulose. In summary, T. harzianum XYR1 is the master regulator of cellulases and xylanases, as well as regulating carbon catabolic enzymes.
Project description:Elucidating the metabolome of the filamentous fungi Neurospora crassa to better understand the link between the circadian clock and metabolism; specifically the role that the clock plays in regulating cellulase production.
Project description:Light represents an important environmental cue, which exerts considerable influence on the metabolism of fungi. Studies with the biotechnological fungal workhorse Trichoderma reesei (Hypocrea jecorina) have revealed an interconnection between transcriptional regulation of cellulolytic enyzmes and the light response. The filamentous fungus, Neurospora crassa, has been used as a model organism to study light and circadian rhythm biology. We therefore investigated whether light also regulates transcriptional regulation of cellulolytic enzymes in N. crassa. We show that the N. crassa photoreceptor genes wc-1, wc-2 and vvd are involved in regulation of cellulase gene expression, indicating that this phenomenon is conserved among filamentous fungi. Genome wide analysis of photoreceptor mutants and evaluation of results by analysis of mutant strains identified several candidate genes likely to play a role in light modulated cellulase gene expression.