Large-scale phenotyping of 1,000 fungal strains for the degradation of non-natural, industrial compounds

Mireille Haon,Sacha Grisel,Philippe Callac,Christian Lechat,Anne Favel,Florence Richard‐Forget ,Cony Decock,Jean‐Guy Berrin ,Marie-Noëlle Rosso,Régis Courtecuisse,Joëlle Dupont,Delphine Chaduli,Jacques Fournier,Bastien Bissaro,Stéphane Welti,Sabine Taussac,Bernard Rivoire,Lucile Sage,Laëtitia Pinson‐Gadais ,Pierre–Arthur Moreau ,Laurence Lesage‐Meessen ,David Navarro,Jacques Guinberteau

doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02401-w

Abstract

Fungal biotechnology is set to play a keystone role in the emerging bioeconomy, notably to address pollution issues arising from human activities. Because they preserve biological diversity, Biological Resource Centres are considered as critical infrastructures to support the development of biotechnological solutions. Here, we report the first large-scale phenotyping of more than 1,000 fungal strains with evaluation of their growth and degradation potential towards five industrial, human-designed and recalcitrant compounds, including two synthetic dyes, two lignocellulose-derived compounds and a synthetic plastic polymer. We draw a functional map over the phylogenetic diversity of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota, to guide the selection of fungal taxa to be tested for dedicated biotechnological applications. We evidence a functional diversity at all taxonomic ranks, including between strains of a same species. Beyond demonstrating the tremendous potential of filamentous fungi, our results pave the avenue for further functional exploration to solve the ever-growing issue of ecosystems pollution.

Highlights

Fungal biotechnology is set to play a keystone role in the emerging bioeconomy, notably to address pollution issues arising from human activities
We present the first large-scale phenotyping study to assess the potential of this fungal collection toward five nonnatural compounds used at industrial scales, including dyes from the textile industry, lignosulfonates (LGSs) from the pulp and paper industry, soluble polyurethane from the plastic industry, and microcrystalline cellulose used in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries
In order to ensure that highquality Biological Resource Centres (BRC) standards are met, we checked the purity and the viability of candidate strains by three successive sub-cultures before entering them in the collection

Summary

Introduction

Fungal biotechnology is set to play a keystone role in the emerging bioeconomy, notably to address pollution issues arising from human activities. Because they preserve biological diversity, Biological Resource Centres are considered as critical infrastructures to support the development of biotechnological solutions. We report the first large-scale phenotyping of more than 1,000 fungal strains with evaluation of their growth and degradation potential towards five industrial, human-designed and recalcitrant compounds, including two synthetic dyes, two lignocellulose-derived compounds and a synthetic plastic polymer. Dyes, and additives are widely used in the food, agricultural, medical, transport, textile, cosmetic, and electronic industries These compounds have been designed to be resistant to degradation and are difficult to recycle, which poses today major challenges. Our work unveils the high biotechnological potential of fungal diversity for the development of sustainable solutions to preserve our planet

Methods

Results

Conclusion