Genome-wide prediction and transcriptome analysis of sugar transporters in four ascomycete fungi.

The import of plant-derived small sugars by sugar transporters (STs) has received increasing interest due to its important biological role and great industrial potential. STs are important targets of genetic engineering to improve fungal plant biomass conversion. Comparatively analysis of the genome-wide prevalence and transcriptomics of STs was performed in four filamentous fungi: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus nidulans, Penicillium subrubescens and Trichoderma reesei.

Comparative Genomics and Transcriptomics Analyses Reveal Divergent Plant Biomass-Degrading Strategies in Fungi.

Plant biomass is one of the most abundant renewable carbon sources, which holds great potential for replacing current fossil-based production of fuels and chemicals. In nature, fungi can efficiently degrade plant polysaccharides by secreting a broad range of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), such as cellulases, hemicellulases, and pectinases. Due to the crucial role of plant biomass-degrading (PBD) CAZymes in fungal growth and related biotechnology applications, investigation of their genomic diversity and transcriptional dynamics has attracted increasing attention.

The Amylolytic Regulator AmyR of Is Involved in Sucrose and Inulin Utilization in a Culture-Condition-Dependent Manner.

Filamentous fungi degrade complex plant material to its monomeric building blocks, which have many biotechnological applications. Transcription factors play a key role in plant biomass degradation, but little is known about their interactions in the regulation of polysaccharide degradation. Here, we deepened the knowledge about the storage polysaccharide regulators AmyR and InuR in .

The transcriptional activator ClrB is crucial for the degradation of soybean hulls and guar gum in Aspergillus niger.

Low-cost plant substrates, such as soybean hulls, are used for various industrial applications. Filamentous fungi are important producers of Carbohydrate Active enZymes (CAZymes) required for the degradation of these plant biomass substrates. CAZyme production is tightly regulated by several transcriptional activators and repressors.

The Sugar Metabolic Model of Can Only Be Reliably Transferred to Fungi of Its Phylum.

Fungi play a critical role in the global carbon cycle by degrading plant polysaccharides to small sugars and metabolizing them as carbon and energy sources. We mapped the well-established sugar metabolic network of to five taxonomically distant species (, , , and ) using an orthology-based approach. The diversity of sugar metabolism correlates well with the taxonomic distance of the fungi.

Unraveling the regulation of sugar beet pulp utilization in the industrially relevant fungus .

Efficient utilization of agro-industrial waste, such as sugar beet pulp, is crucial for the bio-based economy. The fungus possesses a wide array of enzymes that degrade complex plant biomass substrates, and several regulators have been reported to play a role in their production. The role of the regulators GaaR, AraR, and RhaR in sugar beet pectin degradation has previously been reported.

CreA-mediated repression of gene expression occurs at low monosaccharide levels during fungal plant biomass conversion in a time and substrate dependent manner.

Carbon catabolite repression enables fungi to utilize the most favourable carbon source in the environment, and is mediated by a key regulator, CreA, in most fungi. CreA-mediated regulation has mainly been studied at high monosaccharide concentrations, an uncommon situation in most natural biotopes. In nature, many fungi rely on plant biomass as their major carbon source by producing enzymes to degrade plant cell wall polysaccharides into metabolizable sugars.