Project description:Many brown rot fungi are capable of rapidly degrading wood and are copper-tolerant. To better understand the genes that control these processes, we examined gene expression of Fibroporia radiculosa growing on wood treated with a copper-based preservative that combined copper carbonate with dimethyldidecylammonium carbonate. A global profiling strategy called RNA-Seq was used to quantify gene expression of the fungus at days 31 and 154. At day 31, the preservative was still protecting the wood, which showed no strength loss. At day 154, the effects of the preservative were gone, and the wood exhibited 52% strength loss. Statistical analysis identified 917 genes that were differentially expressed (FDR < 1E-4). Transcripts that showed higher expression levels at the early time point were controlling increased oxalate metabolism, laccase for hydroquinone-driven hydroxyl free radical production, pectin degradation, ATP production, xenobiotic detoxification, copper resistance, and stress response. Transcripts that showed higher expression levels at the late time point were involved in degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin, hexose transport, oxalate catabolism, catabolism of laccase substrates, extracellular proton reduction, and remodeling of the fungal cell membrane and cell wall to enhance survival at low pH.
