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Technical University of Munich

Investigating the molecular cross-talk of cellulose and hemicellulose perception in filamentous fungi

   
  Fungi have evolved elaborate systems to elucidate the composition of the lignocellulosic substrates they grow on. However, not all sugars are perceived independently, but some pathways overlap, such that a reciprocal crosstalk or even inhibition can occur. This crosstalk is species-specific, but an inhibitory effect was found to be conserved for cellulose and mannan signaling in industrially relevant species like Trichoderma reesei and Myceliophthora thermophila. So far, the molecular mechanisms behind these signaling pathways, such as the major components involved, the regulation nodes and the interactions of these components within and between two pathways remain unknown. In the current project, our objective is therefore to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of cellulose and hemicellulose perception by using Neurospora crassa as model organism, combining the tools of molecular genetics, functional genomics, analytical chemistry and metabolic engineering. Doing so, we aim to identify targets for rational engineering of filamentous fungi to overcome the potential of inhibitive signaling crosstalk.
Duration Dezember 2018 – Oktober 2022
People Yuxin Zhang; Dr. Lara Hassan (now LMU); Dr. Nils Thieme (TUM); Prof. Dr. Chaoguang Tian (TIB); Benz, J. Philipp (TUM-HFM)
Funding DFG-Project BE 6069/3-1
 
Partner Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology
 

Publications

  • Zhang Y, Nada B, Baker SE, Evans JE, Tian C, Benz JP, Tamayo E. (2024) Unveiling a classical mutant in the context of the GH3 β-glucosidase family in Neurospora crassa. AMB Express 14(1):1-4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-023-01658-0 

  • Gabriel R, Thieme N, Liu Q, Li F, Kohler LT, Harth S, Jecmenica M, Ramamurthy M, Gorman J, Simmons B, McCluskey K, Baker SE, Tian C, Schuerg T, Singer SW, Fleißner A and Benz JP, 2021. The F-box protein gene exo-1 is a new target for reverse-engineering enzyme hypersecretion in filamentous fungi. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118 (26) e2025689118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2025689118

  • Lin L, Wang S, Li X, He Q, Benz JP, Tian C, 2019. STK-12 acts as a transcriptional brake to control the expression of cellulase-encoding genes in Neurospora crassa. PLoS Genetics 15(11): e1008510. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008510

  • Horta MAC, Thieme N, Gao Y, Burnum-Johnson KE, Nicora CD, Gritsenko MA, Lipton MS, Mohanraj K, José de Assis L, Lin L, Tian C, Braus GH, Borkovich KA, Schmoll M, Larrondo LF, Samal A, Goldman GH, Benz JP, 2019. Broad substrate-specific phosphorylation events are associated with the initial stage of plant cell wall recognition in Neurospora crassa. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10:2317. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02317

  • Hassan L, Lin L, Sorek H, Sperl LE, Goudoulas T, Hagn F, Germann N, Tian C, Benz JP*, 2019. Cross-talk of cellulose and mannan perception pathways leads to inhibition of cellulase production in several filamentous fungi. mBio, 10:e00277-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00277-19
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