Transcriptome analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus in the presence of sugarcane bagasse

ABSTRACT: Brazil is the world’s second largest producer of ethanol. Increasing demand for this biofuel has called for investment in new technologies. One example of such technologies is the second-generation (2G) ethanol production. Lignocellulose comprises mainly cellulose and hemicellulose, which consist of high-energy sugars that can be converted into ethanol. Aspergillus sp play an important role in the recycling of lignocellulosic biomass. These species have been investigated as a cell factory to produce industrial enzymes. To improve our understanding of the mechanisms used by Aspergillus sp during degradation of plant biomass and to identify the hydrolytic enzymes secreted by these fungi, we have analyzed the transcriptome and secretome of an Aspergillus species grown on sugarcane bagasse (SEB). A. fumigatus was cultivated in the presence of fructose or SEB. Its cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities depended on time. The maximum activities of endoglucanase and xylanase from the fungus grown on SEB were 0.0029 and 10.82 U mL-1, respectively. Characterization of the transcriptome by RNAseq technology helped to identify genes that participated in the degradation of the biomass demonstrating potential application in the process of enzymatic hydrolysis. The RNAseq data revealed that 2287 genes were differentially expressed in the fungus grown on SEB; 1181 and 1046 of these genes were up- and down-regulated, respectively. There were several CAZymes among the up-regulated genes. Most of these enzymes belonged to the GH family, which includes important hydrolytic and accessory enzymes involved in the degradation of lignocellulose. Similarly, proteomic studies showed that a total of 130 proteins existed in the fungus grown on SEB. These proteins were classified into several groups of secreted extracellular enzymes, and their functional classification demonstrated that 59% of the proteins were CAZymes such as GH45-endoglucanases, GH6 and GH7-cellobiohydrolases, GH3-β-glucosidases, GH10-xylanases, and AA9-LPMO. Data obtained by transcriptome and secretome analyses indicated that A. fumigatus produces a considerable number of CAZymes that participate in the hydrolysis of biomass. These CAZymes are valuable for the lignocellulosic bioenergy industry, provide information for future studies on the degradation of biomass, and improve understanding of the role genes and enzymes play in the degradation process.

ORGANISM(S): Aspergillus fumigatus

PROVIDER: GSE95798 | GEO | 2018/03/19

REPOSITORIES: GEO