Cultures Of Aspergillus Nidulans Research Articles

The α-(1,3)-glucan synthase gene agsE impacts the secretome of Aspergillus niger

Aspergillus niger is widely used as a cell factory for the industrial production of enzymes. Previously, it was shown that deletion of α-1–3 glucan synthase genes results in smaller micro-colonies in liquid cultures of Aspergillus nidulans. Also, it has been shown that small wild-type Aspergillus niger micro-colonies secrete more protein than large mirco-colonies. We here assessed whether deletion of the agsC or agsE α-1–3 glucan synthase genes results in smaller A. niger micro-colonies and whether this is accompanied by a change in protein secretion. Biomass formation was not affected in the deletion strains but pH of the culture medium had changed from 5.2 in the case of the wild-type to 4.6 and 6.4 for ΔagsC and ΔagsE, respectively. The diameter of the ΔagsC micro-colonies was not affected in liquid cultures. In contrast, diameter of the ΔagsE micro-colonies was reduced from 3304 ± 338 µm to 1229 ± 113 µm. Moreover, the ΔagsE secretome was affected with 54 and 36 unique proteins with a predicted signal peptide in the culture medium of MA234.1 and the ΔagsE, respectively. Results show that these strains have complementary cellulase activity and thus may have complementary activity on plant biomass degradation. Together, α-1–3 glucan synthesis (in)directly impacts protein secretion in A. niger.

Autolytic enzymes are responsible for increased melanization of carbon stressed Aspergillus nidulans cultures.

Melanization of carbon stressed Aspergillus nidulans cultures were studied. Melanin production showed strong positive correlation with the activity of the secreted chitinase and ß-1,3-glucanase. Deletion of either chiB encoding an autolytic endochitinase or engA encoding an autolytic ß-1,3-endoglucanase, or both, almost completely prevented melanization of carbon stressed cultures. In contrast, addition of Trichoderma lyticase to cultures induced melanin production. Synthetic melanin could efficiently inhibit the purified ChiB chitinase activity. It could also efficiently decrease the intensity of hyphal fragmentation and pellet disorganization in Trichoderma lyticase treated cultures. Glyphosate, an inhibitor of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine-type melanin synthesis, could prevent melanization of carbon-starved cultures and enhanced pellet disorganization, while pyroquilon, a 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene-type melanin synthesis inhibitor, enhanced melanization, and prevented pellet disorganization. We concluded that cell wall stress induced by autolytic cell wall hydrolases was responsible for melanization of carbon-starved cultures. The produced melanin can shield the living cells but may not inhibit the degradation and reutilization of cell wall materials of dead hyphae. Controlling the activity of autolytic hydrolase production can be an efficient approach to prevent unwanted melanization in the fermentation industry, while applying melanin synthesis inhibitors can decrease the resistance of pathogenic fungi against the chitinases produced by the host organism.

Antifungal activity of extracellular hydrolases produced by autolysing Aspergillus nidulans cultures

Carbon-starving Aspergillus nidulans cultures produce high activities of versatile hydrolytic enzymes and, among these, ChiB endochitinase and EngA β-1,3-endoglucanase showed significant antifungal activity against various fungal species. Double deletion of engA and chiB diminished the antifungal activity of the fermentation broths and increased conidiogenesis and long-term viability of A. nidulans, but decreased the growth rate on culture media containing weak carbon sources. Production of ChiB and EngA can influence fungal communities either directly due to their antifungal properties or indirectly through their effects on vegetative growth. Our data suggest saprophytic fungi as promising future candidates to develop novel biocontrol technologies.

Extracellular proteinase formation in carbon starving Aspergillus nidulans cultures – physiological function and regulation

Extracellular proteinase formation in carbon depleted cultures of the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans was studied to elucidate its regulation and possible physiological function. As demonstrated by gene deletion, culture optimization, microbial physiological and enzymological experiments, the PrtA and PepJ proteinases of A. nidulans did not appear to play a decisive role in the autolytic decomposition of fungal cells under the conditions we tested. However, carbon starvation induced formation of the proteinases observable in autolytic cultures. Similar to other degradative enzymes, production of proteinase was regulated by FluG-BrlA asexual developmental signaling and modulated by PacC-dependent pH-responsive signaling. Under the same carbon starved culture conditions, alterations of CreA, MeaB or heterotrimeric G protein mediated signaling pathways caused less significant changes in the formation of extracellular proteinases. Taken together, these results indicate that while the accumulation of PrtA and PepJ is tightly coupled to the initiation of autolysis, they are not essential for autolytic cell wall degradation in A. nidulans. Thus, as Aspergillus genomes contain a large group of genes encoding proteinases with versatile physiological functions, selective control of proteinase production in fungal cells is needed for the improved industrial use of fungi.

MeaB-dependent nutrition sensing regulates autolysis in carbon starved Aspergillus nidulans cultures.

Carbon starvation induced autolysis is an active process of self-digestion and is under complex regulation in Aspergillus nidulans. In this study we investigated how autolysis depends on the composition of the culture medium, especially on the presence of yeast extract. We demonstrated that the rate of autolytic cell wall degradation as well as the extracellular chitinase and proteinase productions significantly decreased in the presence of this nutrient. The effect of yeast extract on carbon starved cultures was independent of loss-of-function mutations in the carbon and nitrogen regulatory genes creA and areA and in the heterotrimeric G protein signalling genes fadA and ganB. In contrast, the nitrogen regulating transcription factor MeaB was involved in the yeast-extract-mediated repression of autolysis. Reverse transcriptase - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) experiments demonstrated that MeaB affects the FluG-BrlA sporulation regulatory pathway by affecting transcription of brlA, a gene also initiating the autolytic cell wall degradation in this fungus.

Comparative studies of differential expression of chitinolytic enzymes encoded bychiA, chiB, chiC andnagA genes inAspergillus nidulans

N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine, chito-oligomers and carbon starvation regulated chiA, chiB, and nagA gene expressions in Aspergillus nidulans cultures. The gene expression patterns of the main extracellular endochitinase ChiB and the N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase NagA were similar, and the ChiB-NagA enzyme system may play a morphological and/or nutritional role during autolysis. Alterations in the levels of reactive oxygen species or in the glutathione-glutathione disulfide redox balance, characteristic physiological changes developing in ageing and autolyzing fungal cultures, did not affect the regulation of either the growth-related chiA or the autolysis-coupled chiB genes although both of them were down-regulated under diamide stress. The transcription of the chiC gene with unknown physiological function was repressed by increased intracellular superoxide concentration.

Common features and interesting differences in transcriptional responses to secretion stress in the fungi Trichoderma reesei and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

BackgroundSecretion stress is caused by compromised folding, modification or transport of proteins in the secretory pathway. In fungi, induction of genes in response to secretion stress is mediated mainly by the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway. This study aims at uncovering transcriptional responses occurring in the filamentous fungi Trichoderma reesei exposed to secretion stress and comparing these to those found in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.ResultsChemostat cultures of T. reesei expressing human tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and batch bioreactor cultures treated with dithiothreitol (DTT) to prevent correct protein folding were analysed with cDNA subtraction and cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) experiments. ESTs corresponding to 457 unique genes putatively induced under secretion stress were isolated and the expression pattern of 60 genes was confirmed by Northern analysis. Expression of these genes was also studied in a strain over-expressing inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IREI) protein, a sensor for the UPR pathway. To compare the data with that of S. cerevisiae, published transcriptome profiling data on various stress responses in S. cerevisiae was reanalysed. The genes up-regulated in response to secretion stress included a large number of secretion related genes in both organisms. In addition, analysis of T. reesei revealed up regulation of the cpc1 transcription factor gene and nucleosomal genes. The induction of the cpcA and histone gene H4 were shown to be induced also in cultures of Aspergillus nidulans treated with DTT.ConclusionAnalysis of the genes induced under secretion stress has revealed novel features in the stress response in T. reesei and in filamentous fungi. We have demonstrated that in addition to the previously rather well characterised induction of genes for many ER proteins or secretion related proteins also other types of responses exist.

Comparison of gene expression signatures of diamide, H2O2 and menadione exposed Aspergillus nidulans cultures--linking genome-wide transcriptional changes to cellular physiology.

BackgroundIn addition to their cytotoxic nature, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are also signal molecules in diverse cellular processes in eukaryotic organisms. Linking genome-wide transcriptional changes to cellular physiology in oxidative stress-exposed Aspergillus nidulans cultures provides the opportunity to estimate the sizes of peroxide (O22-), superoxide (O2•-) and glutathione/glutathione disulphide (GSH/GSSG) redox imbalance responses.ResultsGenome-wide transcriptional changes triggered by diamide, H2O2 and menadione in A. nidulans vegetative tissues were recorded using DNA microarrays containing 3533 unique PCR-amplified probes. Evaluation of LOESS-normalized data indicated that 2499 gene probes were affected by at least one stress-inducing agent. The stress induced by diamide and H2O2 were pulse-like, with recovery after 1 h exposure time while no recovery was observed with menadione. The distribution of stress-responsive gene probes among major physiological functional categories was approximately the same for each agent. The gene group sizes solely responsive to changes in intracellular O22-, O2•- concentrations or to GSH/GSSG redox imbalance were estimated at 7.7, 32.6 and 13.0 %, respectively. Gene groups responsive to diamide, H2O2 and menadione treatments and gene groups influenced by GSH/GSSG, O22- and O2•- were only partly overlapping with distinct enrichment profiles within functional categories. Changes in the GSH/GSSG redox state influenced expression of genes coding for PBS2 like MAPK kinase homologue, PSK2 kinase homologue, AtfA transcription factor, and many elements of ubiquitin tagging, cell division cycle regulators, translation machinery proteins, defense and stress proteins, transport proteins as well as many enzymes of the primary and secondary metabolisms. Meanwhile, a separate set of genes encoding transport proteins, CpcA and JlbA amino acid starvation-responsive transcription factors, and some elements of sexual development and sporulation was ROS responsive.ConclusionThe existence of separate O22-, O2•- and GSH/GSSG responsive gene groups in a eukaryotic genome has been demonstrated. Oxidant-triggered, genome-wide transcriptional changes should be analyzed considering changes in oxidative stress-responsive physiological conditions and not correlating them directly to the chemistry and concentrations of the oxidative stress-inducing agent.

The appearances of autolytic and apoptotic markers are concomitant but differently regulated in carbon-starving Aspergillus nidulans cultures

In ageing, carbon-depleted cultures of Aspergillus nidulans strain FGSC 26 progressing apoptotic-type cell death was detected, characterised by increasing numbers of Annexin V and TUNEL stained cells after protoplastation. DAPI staining of autolysing mycelia revealed numerous nuclei with elongated, stick-like morphology, which was not observed in surviving hyphal fragments representing a cell population adapted to carbon starvation. Apoptotic cell death was also progressing in aging cultures of the non-autolysing loss-of-function fluG and ΔbrlA mutants, indicating that apoptotic cell death and autolysis were regulated independently. In accordance with this, sphingosine derivatives added to A. nidulans cultures increased cell death rates without influencing autolytic biomass losses and hydrolase production.

The FluG-BrlA pathway contributes to the initialisation of autolysis in submerged Aspergillus nidulans cultures

The fluG gene proved to be essential in the initialisation of autolysis in Aspergillus nidulans (teleomorph Emericella nidulans) cultures, while a loss-of-function mutation in only one out of the flbB-E genes had only minor effects on autolysis. In contrast to its important role in sporulation, brlA regulated only some, but not all, elements of the autolytic process. The tightly coupled autolytic events (chitinase and proteinase production, hyphal fragmentation, disorganisation of pellets, autolytic loss of biomass) observable in ageing cultures of A. nidulans were disconnected by loss-of-function mutations in some genes of the FluG-BrlA regulatory network. The tight correlation between pellet morphology and size and hydrolase production was also erased by these mutations. On the other hand, the mutations studied did not affect the glutathione metabolism of the fungus.

Physiological and morphological changes in autolyzing Aspergillus nidulans cultures.

Physiological and morphological changes in carbon-limited autolyzing cultures of Aspergillus nidulans were described. The carbon starvation arrested conidiation while the formation of filamentous and "yeast-like" hyphal fragments with profoundly altered metabolism enabled the fungus to survive the nutritional stress. The morphological and physiological stress responses, which maintained the cellular integrity of surviving hyphal fragments at the expense of autolyzing cells, were highly concerted and regulated. Moreover, sublethal concentrations of the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide or the mitochondrial uncoupler 2,4-dinitrophenol completely blocked the autolysis. In accordance with the propositions of the free-radical theory of ageing reactive oxygen species accumulated in the surviving fragments with a concomitant increase in the specific superoxide dismutase activity and a continuous decrease in cell viability. Glutathione was degraded extensively in carbon-starving cells due to the action of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, which resulted in a glutathione-glutathione disulfide redox imbalance during autolysis.

Influence of fadAG203R and deltaflbA mutations on morphology and physiology of submerged Aspergillus nidulans cultures.

Morphologic and physiologic changes taking place in carbon-limited submerged cultures of Aspergillus nidulans deltaflbA and fadAG203R strains were studied. Loss-of-function mutation of the flbA gene resulted in an altered germination with unusually thick germination tubes, "fluffy" pellet morphology, as well as a reduced fragmentation rate of hyphae during autolysis. In the fadAG203R mutant strain, conidiophores formed in the stationary phase of growth, and the size of pellets shrank considerably. There were no significant differences in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and in the specific catalase and superoxide dismutase activities by the tested mutants and the appropriate parental strains. Therefore, the participation of ROS or antioxidative enzymes in FadA/FlbA signaling pathways seems to be unlikely in submerged cultures. On the other hand, earlier increases in the extracellular protease and ammonia production were recorded with the deltaflbA strain, whereas the protease and ammonia production of the fadAG203R mutant lagged behind those of the wild-type strains. Similar changes in the time courses of the induction of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase and the degradation of glutathione were observed. These results suggest that FadA/FlbA signaling may be involved in the mobilization of protein and peptide reserves as energy sources during carbon starvation.

Monacolin N, a Compound Resulting from Derailment of Type I Iterative Polyketide Synthase Function en route to Lovastatin.

AbstractFor Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

Monacolin N, a compound resulting from derailment of type I iterative polyketide synthase function en route to lovastatin.

A novel compound, monacolin N, has been isolated from fermentation cultures of Aspergillus nidulans in which the lovastatin polyketide synthase genes lovB and lovC are heterologously expressed.

Purification of a heat-stable chitin deacetylase from Aspergillus nidulans and its role in cell wall degradation

An extracellular chitin deacetylase activity has been purified to homogeneity from autolyzed cultures of Aspergillus nidulans. This enzyme is an acidic glycoprotein with a pI of 2.75 and a 28% (wt/wt) carbohydrate content. The apparent M(r) of the enzyme estimated by SDS/PAGE and Superose 12 (f.p.l.c.) was around 27,000. The enzyme had an optimum pH at 7.0 and was stable in the pH range 4.0-7.5. Its optimum temperature of reaction was 50 degrees C, and it was stable from 30 degrees to 100 degrees C after 1 h of preincubation. The enzyme hydrolyzed glycol chitin and oligomers of N-acetylglucosamine and to a lesser extent chitin, colloidal chitin, carboxymethylchitin, and an alpha-1-->3, 1-->6-N-acetylgalactosamine-galactan among other substances with amido groups, but the enzyme did not hydrolyze peptide bonds. The role of this enzyme could be deacetylation of chitin oligosaccharides during autolysis, after action of endochitinase on cell walls.

Selective expression of a major allergen and cytotoxin, Asp f I, in Aspergillus fumigatus. Implications for the immunopathogenesis of Aspergillus-related diseases.

Asp f I is a major 18-kDa Aspergillus fumigatus allergen and a member of the mitogillin family of cytotoxins. The nucleotide sequence of the Asp f I gene was determined by sequencing polymerase chain reaction products amplified from A. fumigatus spore DNA. The entire 678-bp DNA includes an 81-bp leader sequence, preceding the N-terminal alanine codon, a 52-bp intron, and a 444-bp open reading frame, encoding a 149-amino acid protein (M(r) 16,899), which is 99% homologous to mitogillin from Aspergillus restrictus. A mAb-based ELISA was used to compare Asp f I levels in spores, mycelia, and culture filtrate, and to determine the kinetics of allergen production. Disrupted hyphae or spore extracts had a 1000-fold lower level of Asp f I than culture filtrate, suggesting that germination of spores and growth of the fungus are essential for allergen production. Asp f I levels in A. fumigatus and A. restrictus peaked at day 3 (0.87 to 12.1 micrograms/ml), however, the allergen was not detected in Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, and Aspergillus nidulans cultures (< 1.5 ng/ml) on either days 3 or 8. Northern analysis confirmed that Asp f I mRNA was detected only in A. fumigatus and A. restrictus, but not in the other four Aspergillus spp. Asp f I-specific DNA was generated after polymerase chain reaction amplification of genomic mycelial DNA obtained from A. fumigatus and A. restrictus, but not from the other Aspergillus spp. The results show that Asp f I is selectively expressed in A. fumigatus, and suggest that this cytotoxin could be a specific virulence factor for A. fumigatus.

Effect of exogenous cycllc amp on catabolite repression of cellulase formation in aspergillus nidulans

AbstractThe addition of 1 mM cyclic AMP to induced and repressed cultures of Aspergillus nidulans and its mutant strain (CRR 141) resistant to catabolite repression was fully capable of releasing the wild type from catabolite repression while it caused hyperproduction of cellulases in glycerol repressed cultures. The relief of the catabolite repression was also accompanied by a dramatic drop in enhanced protease levels, thereby indicating that the synthesis of proteases (during the catabolite repression) is under the control of cyclic AMP.

β-N-Acetylglucosaminidase fromAspergillus nidulanswhich degrades chitin oligomers during autolysis

A hexosaminidase from autolyzed cultures of Aspergillus nidulans was purified 196 fold and characterized as a beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.30). The enzyme has a MW of 190000, a pI of 4.3, and optimum pH of 5.0 and is unstable at temperatures above 50 degrees C. The enzyme is a glycoprotein with 19.5% sugars, mannose being the principal component. It binds strongly to chitin. The enzyme hydrolyzes different substrates. The Ki with the competitive inhibitor 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-gluconolactone was independent of the substrate used. The enzyme was inhibited by Hg2+, Ag+, acetate and other organic anions. The kinetics of hydrolysis of chitin oligosaccharides from 2 to 6 units was studied by HPLC. This enzyme is an exoenzyme which degraded chitin oligomers gradually with the production of N-acetylglucosamine. The hydrolysis of N-N'-diacetylchitobiose was inhibited non-competitively by glucosamine and N-acetylglucosamine. In mixtures of chitin oligosaccharides, the hydrolysis of chitobiose was competitively inhibited by each of the other oligomers.

Beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase from Aspergillus nidulans which degrades chitin oligomers during autolysis.

A hexosaminidase from autolyzed cultures of Aspergillus nidulans was purified 196 fold and characterized as a beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.30). The enzyme has a MW of 190000, a pI of 4.3, and optimum pH of 5.0 and is unstable at temperatures above 50 degrees C. The enzyme is a glycoprotein with 19.5% sugars, mannose being the principal component. It binds strongly to chitin. The enzyme hydrolyzes different substrates. The Ki with the competitive inhibitor 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-gluconolactone was independent of the substrate used. The enzyme was inhibited by Hg2+, Ag+, acetate and other organic anions. The kinetics of hydrolysis of chitin oligosaccharides from 2 to 6 units was studied by HPLC. This enzyme is an exoenzyme which degraded chitin oligomers gradually with the production of N-acetylglucosamine. The hydrolysis of N-N'-diacetylchitobiose was inhibited non-competitively by glucosamine and N-acetylglucosamine. In mixtures of chitin oligosaccharides, the hydrolysis of chitobiose was competitively inhibited by each of the other oligomers.

Endochitinase fromAspergillus nidulansimplicated in the autolysis of its cell wall

An endochitinase from centrifuged autolyzed cultures of Aspergillus nidulans has been purified 100 times. The enzyme has Mw 27 000, pI of 4.8 units, pH optimum around 5 pH units. It is unstable at temperature > 70°C and does not have a cation requirement. It is inhibited by Hg2+, Cu2+, Ca2+ and Ag+ and it does not have muramidase activity. The enzyme depolymerizes chitin rapidly with production of high molecular weight polysaccharides, and then slowly degrades these with production of N,N′-diacetylchitobiose. The enzyme hydrolyzes N,N′,N″-triacetylchitotriose with production of N,N′-diacetylchitobiose and N-acetylglucosamine and this hydrolysis is inhibited by other chitin oligomers and N-acetylglucosamine. This enzyme hydrolyzes in the same way the chitin obtained from the cell wall of Aspergillus nidulans.