Project description:Background: Microbial gene expression is to a large extend determined by environmental growth conditions. Differential gene expression analysis between two conditions has been frequently used to reveal regulatory networks and to assign physiological function to unknown genes. In nature, microorganisms cohabit however these interactions have been rarely studied and reproduced in laboratory set-up. Thus to quantitatively explore the genome-wide responses of microbial interaction, we co-cultivated Penicillium chrysogenum and Bacillus subtilis in chemostat culture. Results: Time course expression analysis of P. chrysogenum to co-cultivation with B. subtilis was carried out to understand the natural responses of P. chrysogenum to prokaryotes. Steady state chemostats of P. chrysogenum in non-B-lactam producing conditions was pulsed with B. subtilis and co-cultivation was followed for 72 hours. The dynamic physiological and transcriptional responses of P. chrysogenum in mixed culture were monitored. B. subtilis outcompeted growth of P. chrysogenum resulting in an increased B. subtilis biomass by more than three fold of its original size and a reduction in P. chrysogenum biomass to half of its original size after 72 h of mixed culture. Genes of the penicillin pathway, synthesis of the side-chain and precursors were overall unresponsive to the presence of B. subtilis. Moreover Penicillium polyketide synthase and nonribosomal peptide synthetase genes either remained silent or down-regulated, whereas genes responsible for protein synthesis, metabolism, energy conservation, respiration and transport were upregulated in the presence of B. subtilis. Among highly responsive genes, two putative B-1,3 endoglucanase (mutanase) genes viz Pc12g07500 and Pc12g13330 were upregulated by more than 15-fold and 8-fold respectively. Measurement of enzyme activity in the supernatant of mixed culture confirmed that the co-cultivation with B. subtilis induced mutanase production in P. chrysogenum. Mutanase activity was not observed in pure cultures of P. chrysogenum and B. subtilis or when P. chrysogenum was co-cultured with B. subtilis supernatant or heat inactivated B. subtilis cells. However, mutanase production was observed in cultures of P. chrysogenum pulsed with filter sterilized supernatants from mixed cultures P. chrysogenum and B. subtilis. Heterologous expression of Pc12g07500 and Pc12g13330 genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae confirmed that at least Pc12g07500 encoded an B-1,3 endoglucanase. Conclusion: Time course transcriptional profiling of P. chrysogenum revealed several differentially expressed genes during mixed culture, potentially reflecting interactions between the eukaryotic and the prokaryotic systems. -1,3 endoglucanase produced by P. chrysogenum against B. subtilis signals may have application in improving the efficacy of antibiotics by degrading exopolysacchride biofilms of pathogenic bacteria.
Project description:Acremonium chrysogenum is the industrial producer of cephalosporin C. We isolated a mutant (AC554) from a T-DNA inserted library of A. chrysogenum. AC554 exhibited reduced conidiation and lack of cephalosporin C production. In consistent, the transcription of cephalosporin biosynthetic genes pcbC and cefEF was obviously decreased in AC554. TAIL-PCR and sequence analysis indicated that a T-DNA was inserted in the upstream of an open reading frame (ORF) which was designated AcmybA. Sequence analysis indicated that AcmybA encodes a novel Myb domain containing transcriptional factor. Observation of red fluorescence protein (RFP) tagged AcMybA showed that AcMybA is naturally located in the nuclear of A. chrysogenum. Transcription analysis demonstrated that AcmybA was overexpressed in AC554. In contrast with AC554, the AcmybA deleted mutant (DAcmybA) overproduced conidia in LPE medium and increased cephalosporin production during fermentation. To determine the genes under the influence of AcmybA, we sequenced and compared the transcriptome of DAcmybA, AC554 and the wild-type strain at different developmental stages. Results confirmed the repression of AcMybA on the key conidiation regulatory gene AcbrlA and the cephalosporin biosynthetic genes. Among the targets of AcMybA, 10 putative regulatory genes were selected and overexpressed in A. chrysogenum. Taken together, our results indicate that AcMybA negatively regulates conidiation and cephalosporin production in A. chrysogenum.
Project description:Background: Microbial gene expression is to a large extend determined by environmental growth conditions. Differential gene expression analysis between two conditions has been frequently used to reveal regulatory networks and to assign physiological function to unknown genes. In nature, microorganisms cohabit however these interactions have been rarely studied and reproduced in laboratory set-up. Thus to quantitatively explore the genome-wide responses of microbial interaction, we co-cultivated Penicillium chrysogenum and Bacillus subtilis in chemostat culture. Results: Time course expression analysis of P. chrysogenum to co-cultivation with B. subtilis was carried out to understand the natural responses of P. chrysogenum to prokaryotes. Steady state chemostats of P. chrysogenum in non-B-lactam producing conditions was pulsed with B. subtilis and co-cultivation was followed for 72 hours. The dynamic physiological and transcriptional responses of P. chrysogenum in mixed culture were monitored. B. subtilis outcompeted growth of P. chrysogenum resulting in an increased B. subtilis biomass by more than three fold of its original size and a reduction in P. chrysogenum biomass to half of its original size after 72 h of mixed culture. Genes of the penicillin pathway, synthesis of the side-chain and precursors were overall unresponsive to the presence of B. subtilis. Moreover Penicillium polyketide synthase and nonribosomal peptide synthetase genes either remained silent or down-regulated, whereas genes responsible for protein synthesis, metabolism, energy conservation, respiration and transport were upregulated in the presence of B. subtilis. Among highly responsive genes, two putative B-1,3 endoglucanase (mutanase) genes viz Pc12g07500 and Pc12g13330 were upregulated by more than 15-fold and 8-fold respectively. Measurement of enzyme activity in the supernatant of mixed culture confirmed that the co-cultivation with B. subtilis induced mutanase production in P. chrysogenum. Mutanase activity was not observed in pure cultures of P. chrysogenum and B. subtilis or when P. chrysogenum was co-cultured with B. subtilis supernatant or heat inactivated B. subtilis cells. However, mutanase production was observed in cultures of P. chrysogenum pulsed with filter sterilized supernatants from mixed cultures P. chrysogenum and B. subtilis. Heterologous expression of Pc12g07500 and Pc12g13330 genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae confirmed that at least Pc12g07500 encoded an B-1,3 endoglucanase. Conclusion: Time course transcriptional profiling of P. chrysogenum revealed several differentially expressed genes during mixed culture, potentially reflecting interactions between the eukaryotic and the prokaryotic systems. M-oM-^AM-!-1,3 endoglucanase produced by P. chrysogenum against B. subtilis signals may have application in improving the efficacy of antibiotics by degrading exopolysacchride biofilms of pathogenic bacteria. The objective of the present study is to investigate the response of P. chrysogenum to co-cultivation with B. subtilis. To trigger an interaction specific behaviour, steady state chemostat of P. chrysogenum Wisconsin 54-1255 was pulsed with B. subtilis. The dynamic, transcriptional and physiological responses of P. chrysogenum in mixed culture were monitored and analyzed. Several differentially expressed genes potentially reflected interactions between the eukaryotic and the prokaryotic systems. To test whether any bacterial signaling molecules are responsible for differential expression of selected fungal genes, P. chrysogenum cultures were inoculated with supernatant of B. subtilis culture, supernatants from mixed culture and with heat-inactivated B. subtilis. The specific transcriptional responses identified using microarray was verified by analysis of fermentation broth and functional characterization by expression of selected genes in S. cerevisiae.