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Regulation of gene expression during the onset of ligninolytic oxidation by Wolfiporia cocos on colonized wood

ABSTRACT: Certain wood decay basidiomycetes, collectively referred to as brown-rot fungi rapidly depolymerize cellulose while leaving behind the bulk of cell wall lignin as a modified residue. The mechanism(s) employed are unclear, but considerable evidence implicates the involvement of diffusible oxidants, particularly hydroxyl radical. Toward a better understanding of this process, we have examined the transcriptome and secretome of Wolfiporia cocos when cultivated on media containing glucose, purified crystalline cellulose, aspen (Populus grandidentata) or lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) as sole carbon source. Compared to glucose, 39, 331 and 357 genes exhibited 4-fold increases in transcript levels in cellulose, aspen and lodgepole pine, respectively. Mass spectrometry identified peptides corresponding to 64 glycoside hydrolase (GH) proteins and, of these, 17 corresponded to transcripts upregulated on one or both woody substrates. Most of these genes were broadly categorized as hemicellulases or chitinases. Consistent with an important role for ·OH in cellulose depolymerization, high transcript levels and upregulation were observed for genes involved in iron homeostasis, iron reduction and extracellular peroxide generation. These patterns of regulation differ markedly from the closely related brown rot fungus, Postia placenta, and expand the number of enzymes potentially involved in the oxidative depolymerization of cellulose.

ORGANISM(S): Wolfiporia cocos

PROVIDER: GSE78007 | GEO | 2016/04/13

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA312380

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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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:Transcript profiles of Postia placenta grown on media containing ball-milled aspen or ball-milled pine as the sole carbon source were analyzed. Array design was based on the DoE's Joint Genome Institute's gene models for P. placenta version 1. The research goal is to identtify genes essential for cellulose depolymerization. From a data set of 12,438 unique alleles, each NimbleGen (Madison, WI) array featured 10 unique 60mers per gene, all in triplicate. The dataset was manually annotated to include only the ‘best allelic model’ among CAZY-encoding genes. Total RNA was purified from medium containing ball-milled aspen or ball-milled pine as the sole carbon source. Three biological replicates per medium were used (6 separate arrays). RNA was converted to double-strand cDNA and labeled with the Cy3 fluorophore sample for hybridization to the Postia placenta MAD-698 whole genome expression array by Roche NimbleGen (Iceland). In brief, 10ug of total RNA was incubated with 1X first strand buffer, 10 mM DTT, 0.5mM dNTPs, 100 pM oligo T7 d(T)24 primer, and 200 units of SuperScript II (Invitrogen) for 60 min at 42°C. Second strand cDNA was synthesized by incubation with 1X second strand buffer, 0.2mM dNTPs, 0.07 units per ul DNA ligase (Invitrogen), 0.27 units per ul DNA polymerase I (Invitrogen), 0.013 units per ul RNase H (Invitrogen), at 16°C for 2 hours. Immediately following, 10 units T4 DNA polymerase (Invitrogen) was added for additional 5 minute incubation at 16°C. Double-stranded cDNA was treated with 27ng/ul of RNase A (EpiCenter Technologies) for 10 minutes at 37°C. Treated cDNA was purified using an equal volume of phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol (Ambion), ethanol precipitated, washed with 80% ethanol, and resuspended in 20ul water. One ug of each cDNA sample was amplified and labeled with 1 unit per ul of Klenow Fragment (New England BioLabs) and 1 O.D unit of Cy3 fluorophore (TriLink Biotechnologies, Inc.) for 2 hours at 37°C. Array hybridization was carried out with 6ug of labeled cDNA suspended in NimbleGen hybridization solution for 17 hours at 42°C.

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Regulation of gene expression during the onset of ligninolytic oxidation by Wolfiporia cocos on colonized wood

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