Project description:Wood-degrading brown rot fungi are essential recyclers of plant biomass in forest ecosystems. Their efficient cellulolytic systems, which have potential biotechnological applications, apparently depend on a combination of two mechanisms: lignocellulose oxidation by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and polysaccharide hydrolysis by a limited set of glycoside hydrolases (GHs). Given that ROS are strongly oxidizing and non-selective, these two steps are likely segregated. A common hypothesis has been that brown rot fungi use a concentration gradient of chelated metal ions to confine ROS generation inside wood cell walls before enzymes can infiltrate. We examined an alternative: that lignocellulose-oxidation (LOX) components involved in ROS production are differentially expressed by brown rot fungi ahead of GH components. We used spatial mapping to resolve a temporal sequence in Postia placenta, sectioning thin wood wafers colonized directionally. Among sections, we measured gene expression by whole transcriptome sequencing (RNAseq) and assayed relevant enzyme activities. We found a marked pattern of LOX upregulation in a narrow (5-mm; 48-hr) zone at the hyphal front, which included many genes likely involved in ROS generation. Upregulation of GH5 endoglucanases and many other GHs clearly occurred later, behind the hyphal front, with notable exceptions of two likely expansins and a GH28 pectinase. Our results support a staggered mechanism for brown rot that is controlled by differential expression rather than microenvironmental gradients. This mechanism likely results in an oxidative pretreatment of lignocellulose, possibly facilitated by expansin- and pectinase-assisted cell wall swelling, before cellulases and hemicellulases are deployed for polysaccharide depolymerization. We sequenced mRNA from 9 Postia placenta samples taken from 3 wood sections of wafer design, with 3 bioreplicates for each wood section, to compare the gene expression during brown rot processes. Three wood sections of the wafer are representing early to late decay stages.
Project description:Deadwood plays a crucial role in forest ecosystems, but we have limited information about the specific fungal taxa and extracellular lignocellulolytic enzymes that are actively involved in the decomposition process in situ. To investigate this, we studied the fungal metaproteome of twelve deadwood tree species in a replicated, eight-year experiment. Key fungi observed included genera of white-rot fungi (Basidiomycota, e.g. Armillaria, Hypholoma, Mycena, Ischnoderma, Resinicium), brown-rot fungi (Basidiomycota, e.g. Fomitopsis, Antrodia), diverse Ascomycota including xylariacous soft-rot fungi (e.g. Xylaria, Annulohypoxylon, Nemania) and various wood-associated endophytes and saprotrophs (Ascocoryne, Trichoderma, Talaromyces). These fungi used a whole range of extracellular lignocellulolytic enzymes, such as peroxidases, peroxide-producing enzymes, laccases, cellulases, glucosidases, hemicellulases (xylanases) and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs). Both the fungi and enzymes were tree-specific, with specialists and generalists being distinguished by network analysis. The extracellular enzymatic system was highly redundant, with many enzyme classes of different origins present simultaneously in all decaying logs. Strong correlations were found between peroxide-producing enzymes (oxidases) and peroxidases as well as LPMOs, and between ligninolytic, cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes. The overall protein abundance of lignocellulolytic enzymes was reduced by up to -30% in gymnosperm logs compared to angiosperm logs, and gymnosperms lacked ascomycetous enzymes, which may have contributed to the lower decomposition of gymnosperm wood. In summary, we have obtained a comprehensive and detailed insight into the enzymatic machinery of wood-inhabiting fungi in several temperate forest tree species, which can help to improve our understanding of the complex ecological processes in forest ecosystems.
2024-04-22 | PXD041962 | Pride
Project description:Reintroduction of rare and endangered wood-inhabiting fungi through inoculation
Project description:Wood-degrading brown rot fungi are essential recyclers of plant biomass in forest ecosystems. Their efficient cellulolytic systems, which have potential biotechnological applications, apparently depend on a combination of two mechanisms: lignocellulose oxidation by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and polysaccharide hydrolysis by a limited set of glycoside hydrolases (GHs). Given that ROS are strongly oxidizing and non-selective, these two steps are likely segregated. A common hypothesis has been that brown rot fungi use a concentration gradient of chelated metal ions to confine ROS generation inside wood cell walls before enzymes can infiltrate. We examined an alternative: that lignocellulose-oxidation (LOX) components involved in ROS production are differentially expressed by brown rot fungi ahead of GH components. We used spatial mapping to resolve a temporal sequence in Postia placenta, sectioning thin wood wafers colonized directionally. Among sections, we measured gene expression by whole transcriptome sequencing (RNAseq) and assayed relevant enzyme activities. We found a marked pattern of LOX upregulation in a narrow (5-mm; 48-hr) zone at the hyphal front, which included many genes likely involved in ROS generation. Upregulation of GH5 endoglucanases and many other GHs clearly occurred later, behind the hyphal front, with notable exceptions of two likely expansins and a GH28 pectinase. Our results support a staggered mechanism for brown rot that is controlled by differential expression rather than microenvironmental gradients. This mechanism likely results in an oxidative pretreatment of lignocellulose, possibly facilitated by expansin- and pectinase-assisted cell wall swelling, before cellulases and hemicellulases are deployed for polysaccharide depolymerization.