Project description:The biodegradation of lignite (brown coal) by microorganisms has the potential for bioremediation of contaminated mining sites and to generate alternative ways to valorize lignite, such as by producing humic acids or building block chemicals. Previously, a lignite-degrading strain of Trichoderma was isolated, but the genomic and transcriptomic basis of its lignite-degrading ability remained unknown. Here we report that the sequenced genome of the T. cf. simile WF8 strain encoded for enzymes with roles in the degradation of lignite, and potentially tolerance to lignite-breakdown products. There was only a small number of annotated unique genes in the T. cf. simile WF8 genome compared to other fungi, and likely the expression of gene families shared with other fungi is a key factor in lignite biosolubilization by T. cf. simile. The transcriptomes were analyzed of T. cf. simile cultured at two time-points with the lignite-breakdown model compounds 4-phenoxybenzoic acid (which was growth inhibitory), and phenetole and 9-10-dibutoxyanthracene (neither of which inhibited growth), and showed ~20% of genes up-regulated by one or more of these compounds. The analysis highlights candidates for characterization and engineering enzyme over-expressing T. cf. simile strains with potentially improved degradation capacity, e.g., laccases and peroxidases, or tolerance and catabolism of breakdown products, e.g., cytochrome P450s, and ring cleavage dioxygenases.
Project description:In this study the transcriptomes of Acinetobacter baumannii strains ATCC 17978 and 17978hm were compared. Strain 17978hm is a hns knockout derivative of strain ATCC 17978. Strain 17978hm displays a hyper-motile phenotype on semi-solid Mueller-Hinton (MH) media (0.25% agar). ATCC 17978 and 17978hm from an 37C overnight culture were transferred to the centre of the semi-solid MH plate and incubated at 37C for 8 hours. Only 17978hm cells displayed a motile phenotype and covered the complete surface of the plate. These motile 17978hm cells and the non-motile wild-type ATCC 17978 cells were harvested and RNA was isolated. The comparative transcriptome analysis was performed using the FairPlay labeling kit and a custom made Agilent MicroArray with probes designed to coding regions of the ATCC 17978 genome. The data was analyzed using Agilent GeneSpring GX9 and the significance analysis of microarray MS Excel add-on.
Project description:Corynebacterium glutamicum strain ATCC 21831 is a producer of L-arginine that was created by random mutagenesis. It is resistant to the arginine structural analogue canavanine. In order to identify potential bottlenecks in the biosynthetic pathway that leads to this industrially important amino acid, relative metabolite abundances of biosynthetic intermediates were determined in comparison to the type strain ATCC 13032. An extract of U13C-labeled biomass was used as internal standard, to correct for different ionization efficiencies. Metabolites were identified using the ALLocator web platform.