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10 páginas.- 4 figuras.- 2 tablas.- 30 referencias.- Supporting information for this article is given via a link at the end of the document https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202217372, he hydroxylation of fatty acids is an appealing reaction in synthetic chemistry, although the lack of selective catalysts hampers its industrial implementation. Here, we have engineered a highly regioselective fungal peroxygenase for the w-1 hydroxylation of fatty acids with quenched stepwise over-oxidation. One single mutation near the Phe catalytic tripod narrowed the heme cavity, promoting a dramatic shift toward sub-terminal hydroxylation with a drop in the over-oxidation activity. While crystallographic soaking experiments and molecular dynamic simulations shed light on this unique oxidation pattern, the selective biocatalyst was produced by Pichia pastoris at 0.4 g/L in a fed-batch bioreactor and used in the preparative synthesis of 1.4 g of (w-1)-hydroxytetradecanoic acid with 95% regioselectivity and 83% ee through the (S)-enantiomer.The hydroxylation of fatty acids is an appealing reaction in synthetic chemistry, although the lack of selective catalysts hampers its industrial implementation. Here, we have engineered a highly regioselective fungal peroxygenase for the w-1 hydroxylation of fatty acids with quenched stepwise over-oxidation. One single mutation near the Phe catalytic tripod narrowed the heme cavity, promoting a dramatic shift toward sub-terminal hydroxylation with a drop in the over-oxidation activity. While crystallographic soaking experiments and molecular dynamic simulations shed light on this unique oxidation pattern, the selective biocatalyst was produced by Pichia pastoris at 0.4 g/L in a fed-batch bioreactor and used in the preparative synthesis of 1.4 g of (w-1)-hydroxytetradecanoic acid with 95% regioselectivity and 83% ee through the (S)-enantiomer., This work was supported by the European Union Project grant H2020-BBI-PPP-2015-2-720297-ENZOX2, the I+D+I PID2019-106166RB-I00-OXYWAVE Spanish project funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI)/doi: 10.13039/501100011033/, the PID2020-118968RB-I00 LILI project from the Spanish MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, the ‘Comunidad de Madrid’ Synergy CAM project Y2018/BIO-4738-EVOCHIMERA-CMand the PIE-CSIC projects PIE-202040E185 and PIE-201580E042. PGS thanks the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Spain) for her FPI scholarship (BES-2017-080040) and to the Ministry of Science and Innovation for her contract as part of PTQ2020-011037 project funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 within the NextGenerationEU/PRTR.DGP thanks Juan de la Cierva Incorporación contract Ref nº: IJC2020-043725-I, funded by MCIN / AEI / 10.13039/501100011033, and the EUNextGenerationEU/PRTR program. The authors thank the Synchrotron Radiation Source at Alba (Barcelona, Spain) for assistance with the BL13-XALOC beamline.

A bifunctional glycoside hydrolase GH78 from the ascomycete Xylaria polymorpha (XpoGH78) possesses catalytic versatility towards both glycosides and esters, which may be advantageous for the efficient degradation of the plant cell-wall complex that contains both diverse sugar residues and esterified structures. The contribution of XpoGH78 to the conversion of lignocellulosic materials without any chemical pretreatment to release the water-soluble aromatic fragments, carbohydrates, and methanol was studied. The disintegrating effect of enzymatic lignocellulose treatment can be significantly improved by using different kinds of hydrolases and phenoloxidases. The considerable changes in low (3 kDa), medium (30 kDa), and high (> 200 kDa) aromatic fragments were observed after the treatment with XpoGH78 alone or with this potent cocktail. Synergistic conversion of rape straw also resulted in a release of 17.3 mg of total carbohydrates (e.g., arabinose, galactose, glucose, mannose, xylose) per gram of substrate after incubating for 72 h. Moreover, the treatment of rape straw with XpoGH78 led to a marginal methanol release of approximately 17 μg/g and improved to 270 μg/g by cooperation with the above accessory enzymes. In the case of beech wood conversion, the combined catalysis by XpoGH78 and laccase caused an effect comparable with that of fungal strain X. polymorpha in woody cultures concerning the liberation of aromatic lignocellulose fragments.

Background:: Chiral β-hydroxy esters and α-substituted β-hydroxy esters represent versatile building blocks for pheromones, β-lactam antibiotics and 1,2- or 1,3-aminoalcohols. Objective:: Synthesis of versatile α-substituted β-keto esters and their diastereoselective reduction to the corresponding syn- or anti-α-substituted β-hydroxy esters. Assignment of the relative configuration by NMR-spectroscopy after a Curtius rearrangement of α-substituted β-keto esters to 4-substituted 5-methyloxazolidin-2-ones. Methods: Diastereoselective reduction was achieved by using different Lewis acids (zinc, titanium and cerium) in combination with complex borohydrides as reducing agents. Assignment of the relative configuration was verified by 1H-NMR spectroscopy after Curtius-rearrangement of α-substituted β-hydroxy esters to 4-substituted 5-methyloxazolidin-2-ones. Results:: For the syn-selective reduction, titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) in combination with a pyridine-borane complex (py BH3) led to diastereoselectivities up to 99% dr. High anti-selective reduction was achieved by using cerium trichloride (CeCl3) and steric hindered reducing agents such as lithium triethylborohydride (LiEt3BH). After Curtius-rearrangement of each α-substituted β-hydroxy ester to the corresponding 4-substituted 5-methyloxazolidin-2-one, the relative configuration was confirmed by 1H NMR-spectroscopy. Conclusion:: We have expanded the procedure of Lewis acid-mediated diastereoselective reduction to bulky α-substituents such as the isopropyl group and the electron withdrawing phenyl ring.

The Gottesacker (“God’s acre”) in Herrnhut (Upper Lusatia, Saxony) has been a graveyard for almost 300 years. G. Zschieschang has mapped its fungal community since the 1960ies. Combining these findings and those of other mycologists, mycological data that cover about 55 years are reported here. In this context, we discuss the fungal biodiversity with special emphasis on CHEGD species (Clavariaceae-Hygrocybe-Entoloma-Geoglossaceae-Dermoloma). These species are used to classify and assess the conservation value of grasslands by monitoring their fungal communities. According to the determined CHEGD profile, the Gottesacker graveyard is ranked as a grassland of international importance. In addition, we present macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of two rare CHEGD species: Entoloma brunneosericeum and Clavaria messapica. These are the first records of both species for Germany and Saxony, respectively.

The ascomycete Truncatella angustata has a worldwide distribution. Commonly, it is associated with plants as an endophyte, pathogen, or saprotroph. The genome assembly comprises 44.9 Mbp, a G+C content of 49.2%, and 12,353 predicted genes, among them 12 unspecific peroxygenases (EC 1.11.2.1).

Unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) secreted by fungi represent an intriguing enzyme type that selectively transfers peroxide-borne oxygen with high efficiency to diverse substrates including unactivated hydrocarbons. They contain a cysteine-ligated heme and catalyze hydroxylation, epoxidation, dealkylation, deacylation as well as hetero atom, halide and one-electron oxidations. Substrate spectra of UPOs resemble both those of P450 monooxygenases and heme peroxidases.

Cyclocybe aegerita (synonym: Agrocybe aegerita) is a widely cultivated edible and reportedly almost cosmopolitan mushroom species that serves as a model fungus for basidiome formation and as producer of useful natural products and enzymes. Focusing on strains from different continents, here, we present a phylogenetic analysis of this species and some adjacent taxa that employs four phylogenetic markers. In addition, we tested the strains’ capability to fructify on agar media. Our analysis reveals that “C. aegerita sensu lato” splits up into the following two well-supported monophyletic geographic lineages: a European clade and an Asian clade. The European one is closely associated with the Chinese species Cyclocybe salicaceicola. In contrast, the Asian lineage, which we preliminarily designate as Cyclocybe chaxingu agg., may comprise several species (species complex) and clusters with the Pacific species Cyclocybe parasitica (New Zealand). In addition, fruiting properties differ across C. aegerita and its Asian and Pacific relatives; however, strains from the Asian clade and C. parasitica tend to form larger basidiomes with relatively big caps and long stipes and strains from the European clade exhibit a more variable fruiting productivity with the tendency to form more basidiomes, with smaller caps and shorter stipes. Moreover, some strains showed individual fruiting patterns, such as the preference to fruit where they were exposed to injuring stimuli. In conclusion, the delimitation of the newly delimited Asian species complex from our multilocus phylogeny of “C. aegerita sensu lato”, which is supported by phenotypic data, depicts an exemplary case of biogeographic diversity within a previously thought homogeneous species of near worldwide distribution.

International audience; Fungal dye-decolorizing peroxidases (DyPs) have found applications in the treatment of dye-contaminated industrial wastes or to improve biomass digestibility. Their roles in fungal biology are uncertain, although it has been repeatedly suggested that they could participate in lignin degradation and/or modification. Using a comprehensive set of 162 fully sequenced fungal species, we defined seven distinct fungal DyP clades on basis of a sequence similarity network. Sequences from one of these clades clearly diverged from all others, having on average the lower isoelectric points and hydropathy indices, the highest number of N -glycosylation sites, and N-terminal sequence peptides for secretion. Putative proteins from this clade are absent from brown-rot and ectomycorrhizal species that have lost the capability of degrading lignin enzymatically. They are almost exclusively present in white-rot and other saprotrophic Basidiomycota that digest lignin enzymatically, thus lending support for a specific role of DyPs from this clade in biochemical lignin modification. Additional nearly full-length fungal DyP genes were isolated from the environment by sequence capture by hybridization; they all belonged to the clade of the presumably secreted DyPs and to another related clade. We suggest focusing our attention on the presumably intracellular DyPs from the other clades, which have not been characterized thus far and could represent enzyme proteins with novel catalytic properties. Key points • A fungal DyP phylogeny delineates seven main sequence clades. • Putative extracellular DyPs form a single clade of Basidiomycota sequences. • Extracellular DyPs are associated to white-rot fungi.Fungal dye-decolorizing peroxidases (DyPs) have found applications in the treatment of dye-contaminated industrial wastes or to improve biomass digestibility. Their roles in fungal biology are uncertain, although it has been repeatedly suggested that they could participate in lignin degradation and/or modification. Using a comprehensive set of 162 fully sequenced fungal species, we defined seven distinct fungal DyP clades on basis of a sequence similarity network. Sequences from one of these clades clearly diverged from all others, having on average the lower isoelectric points and hydropathy indices, the highest number of N -glycosylation sites, and N-terminal sequence peptides for secretion. Putative proteins from this clade are absent from brown-rot and ectomycorrhizal species that have lost the capability of degrading lignin enzymatically. They are almost exclusively present in white-rot and other saprotrophic Basidiomycota that digest lignin enzymatically, thus lending support for a specific role of DyPs from this clade in biochemical lignin modification. Additional nearly full-length fungal DyP genes were isolated from the environment by sequence capture by hybridization; they all belonged to the clade of the presumably secreted DyPs and to another related clade. We suggest focusing our attention on the presumably intracellular DyPs from the other clades, which have not been characterized thus far and could represent enzyme proteins with novel catalytic properties. Key points • A fungal DyP phylogeny delineates seven main sequence clades. • Putative extracellular DyPs form a single clade of Basidiomycota sequences. • Extracellular DyPs are associated to white-rot fungi.

17 páginas.- 7 figuras.- 2 tablas.- 53 referencias.- Supplementary Materials: The following are available online (at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/antiox10121888/s1), Epoxide metabolites from n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids arouse interest thanks to their physiological and pharmacological activities. Their chemical synthesis has significant drawbacks, and enzymes emerge as an alternative with potentially higher selectivity and greener nature. Conversion of eleven eicosanoid, docosanoid, and other n-3/n-6 fatty acids into mono-epoxides by fungal unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) is investigated, with emphasis on the Agrocybe aegerita (AaeUPO) and Collariella virescens (rCviUPO) enzymes. GC-MS revealed the strict regioselectivity of the n-3 and n-6 reactions with AaeUPO and rCviUPO, respectively, yielding 91%-quantitative conversion into mono-epoxides at the last double bond. Then, six of these mono-epoxides were obtained at mg-scale, purified and further structurally characterized by 1H, 13C and HMBC NMR. Moreover, chiral HPLC showed that the n-3 epoxides were also formed (by AaeUPO) with total S/R enantioselectivity (ee > 99%) while the n-6 epoxides (from rCviUPO reactions) were formed in nearly racemic mixtures. The high regio- and enantioselectivity of several of these reactions unveils the synthetic utility of fungal peroxygenases in fatty acid epoxidation., Funding: This research was funded by BioBased Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, grant number 792063 (SusBind project; https://susbind.eu, accessed on 19 October 2021; to A.G., A.T.M. and M.H.), the BIO2017-86559-R and PID2020-118968RB-100 projects of the Spanish Ministry of Science & Innovation (co-financed by FEDER funds) to A.T.M. and A.G., respectively; the CSIC projects PIE-202040E185 (to A.G.) and PIE-202120E019 (to A.T.M.); and the CSIC SusPlast platform (to A.T.M.).

From the biotechnological viewpoint, the enzymatic disintegration of plant lignocellulosic biomass is a promising goal since it would deliver fermentable sugars for the chemical sector. Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is a vital component of the extracellular lignocellulose-degrading enzyme system of fungi and has a great potential to improve catalyst efficiency for biomass processing. In the present study, a CDH from a newly isolated strain of the agaricomycete Coprinellus aureogranulatus (CauCDH) was successfully purified with a specific activity of 28.9 U mg−1. This pure enzyme (MW = 109 kDa, pI = 5.4) displayed the high oxidative activity towards β-1–4-linked oligosaccharides. Not least, CauCDH was used for the enzymatic degradation of rice straw without chemical pretreatment. As main metabolites, glucose (up to 165.18 ± 3.19 mg g−1), xylose (64.21 ± 1.22 mg g−1), and gluconic acid (5.17 ± 0.13 mg g−1) could be identified during the synergistic conversion of this raw material with the fungal hydrolases (e.g., esterase, cellulase, and xylanase) and further optimization by using an RSM statistical approach.

[EN] Fungal unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) are emergent biocatalysts that perform highly selective C-H oxyfunctionalizations of organic compounds, yet their heterologous production at high levels is required for their practical use in synthetic chemistry. Here, we achieved functional expression in yeast of two new unusual acidic peroxygenases from Candolleomyces (Psathyrella) aberdarensis (PabUPO) and their production at large scale in bioreactor. Our strategy was based on adopting secretion mutations from Agrocybe aegerita UPO mutant −PaDa-I variant− designed by directed evolution for functional expression in yeast, which belongs to the same phylogenetic family as PabUPOs –long-type UPOs− and that shares 65% sequence identity. After replacing the native signal peptides by the evolved leader sequence from PaDa-I, we constructed and screened site-directed recombination mutant libraries yielding two recombinant PabUPOs with expression levels of 5.4 and 14.1 mg/L in S. cerevisiae. These variants were subsequently transferred to P. pastoris for overproduction in fed-batch bioreactor, boosting expression levels up to 290 mg/L with the highest volumetric activity achieved to date for a recombinant peroxygenase (60,000 U/L, with veratryl alcohol as substrate). With a broad pH activity profile, ranging from 2.0 to 9.0, these highly secreted, active and stable peroxygenases are promising tools for future engineering endeavors, as well as for their direct application in different industrial and environmental settings., This work was supported by the Comunidad de Madrid Synergy CAM Project Y2018/BIO-4738-EVOCHIMERA-CM, the Spanish Government Projects BIO2016-79106-R-Lignolution, PID2019-106166RB-100-OXYWAVE and the CSIC Project PIE- 201580E042. P. Gomez de Santos is grateful to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Spain) for her FPI and POP contracts (BES-2017-080040).

A bifunctional glycoside hydrolase GH78 from the ascomycete

Nematodes represent a diverse and ubiquitous group of metazoans in terrestrial environments. They feed on bacteria, fungi, plants, other nematodes or parasitize a variety of animals and hence may be considered as active members of many food webs. Deadwood is a structural component of forest ecosystems which harbors many niches for diverse biota. As fungi and bacteria are among the most prominent decomposing colonizers of deadwood, we anticipated frequent and diverse nematode populations to co-occur in such ecosystems. However, knowledge about their ability to colonize this habitat is still limited. We applied DNA-based amplicon sequencing (metabarcoding) of the 18S rRNA gene to analyze nematode communities in sapwood and heartwood of decaying logs from 13 different tree species. We identified 247 nematode ASVs (amplicon sequence variants) from 27 families. Most of these identified families represent bacterial and fungal feeders. Their composition strongly depended on tree species identity in both wood compartments. While pH and water content were the only wood properties that contributed to nematodes’ distribution, co-occurring fungal and prokaryotic (bacteria and archaea) α- and β-diversities were significantly related to nematode communities. By exploring thirteen different tree species, which exhibit a broad range of wood characteristics, this study provides first and comprehensive insights into nematode diversity in deadwood of temperate forests and indicates connectivity to other wood-inhabiting organisms.

Deadwood is important for our forest ecosystems. It feeds and houses many organisms, e.g., fungi and prokaryotes, with many different species contributing to its decomposition and nutrient cycling., Fungi and prokaryotes are dominant colonizers of wood and mediate its decomposition. Much progress has been achieved to unravel these communities and link them to specific wood properties. However, comparative studies considering both groups of organisms and assessing their relationships to wood resources are largely missing. Bipartite interaction networks provide an opportunity to investigate this colonizer-resource relationship more in detail and aim to directly compare results between different biotic groups. The main questions were as follows. Are network structures reflecting the trophic relationship between fungal and prokaryotic colonizers and their resources? If so, do they reflect the critical role of these groups, especially that of fungi, during decomposition? We used amplicon sequencing data to analyze fungal and prokaryotic interaction networks from deadwood of 13 temperate tree species at an early to middle stage of decomposition. Several diversity- and specialization-related indices were determined and the observed network structures were related to intrinsic wood traits. We hypothesized nonrandom bipartite networks for both groups and a higher degree of specialization for fungi, as they are the key players in wood decomposition. The results reveal highly modular and specialized interaction networks for both groups of organisms, demonstrating that many fungi and prokaryotes are resource-specific colonizers. However, as the level of specialization of fungi significantly surpassed that of prokaryotes, our findings reflect the strong association between fungi and their host. Our novel approach shows that the application of bipartite interaction networks is a useful tool to explore, quantify, and compare the deadwood-colonizers relationship based on sequencing data. IMPORTANCE Deadwood is important for our forest ecosystems. It feeds and houses many organisms, e.g., fungi and prokaryotes, with many different species contributing to its decomposition and nutrient cycling. The aim of this study was to explore and quantify the relationship between these two main wood-inhabiting organism groups and their corresponding host trees. Two independent DNA-based amplicon sequencing data sets (fungi and prokaryotes) were analyzed via bipartite interaction networks. The links in the networks represent the interactions between the deadwood colonizers and their deadwood hosts. The networks allowed us to analyze whether many colonizing species interact mostly with a restricted number of deadwood tree species, so-called specialization. Our results demonstrate that many prokaryotes and fungi are resource-specific colonizers. The direct comparison between both groups revealed significantly higher specialization values for fungi, emphasizing their strong association to respective host trees, which reflects their dominant role in exploiting this resource.

Xylaria grammica is an ascomycetous decomposer of dead hardwood. X. grammica IHIA82 was recovered from the Kakamega Forest, Kenya. The whole genome of this strain was sequenced with a total size of 47.0 Mbp, a G+C content of 48.1%, and 12,126 predicted genes., Xylaria grammica is an ascomycetous decomposer of dead hardwood. The X. grammica strain IHIA82 was recovered from the Kakamega Forest in Kenya. The whole genome of this strain was sequenced with a total size of 47.0 Mbp, a G+C content of 48.1%, and 12,126 predicted genes.

12 páginas.- 6 figuras.- 1 tabla.- 84 referencias.- The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.0c03165, Epoxidation of unsaturated fatty acids by unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) of the best-known long-UPO subfamily, including the Agrocybe aegerita (AaeUPO) and Coprinopsis cinerea enzymes, is reported here. To understand the different oxygenation patterns by members of the long-UPO and short-UPO subfamilies, the latter represented by the Marasmius rotula enzyme (MroUPO), fatty-acid diffusion into their heme pockets was simulated with the adaptive PELE software. Computational results shed light on the inability of AaeUPO to epoxidize oleic acid (C18:1), opposed to MroUPO, due to steric hindrances to harbor (with a good interaction energy) the substrate with the Δ9 C10 atom at a catalytically relevant distance (99%) formation of cis,cis-15,16-epoxyoctadeca-9,12-dienoic acid. The nearly complete conversion of α-linolenic acid by the two enzymes was transferred to a small preparative scale, the yield of purified product was estimated, its chemical structure analyzed by NMR, and more interestingly, stereoselective production of the 15(R),16(S) enantiomer (80-83% ee) assessed by chiral HPLC. This enzymatic synthesis overcomes the unspecificity of chemical epoxidation where the reaction cannot be restricted to the formation of monoepoxides as found during m-perchlorobenzoic acid oxidation of α-linolenic acid. Moreover, the variant was able to produce the unsaturated dicarboxylic fatty acid, together with subterminal oxygenation products, during partial conversion of oleic acid. These two noteworthy reactions had not been reported for any UPO described to date. © 2020 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved., This work has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 792063 (“Development and pilot production of sustainable binder systems for wood based panels”, https://susbind.eu ), the CTQ2016-79138-R and BIO2017-86559-R projects of Spanish MINECO, the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca of Generalitat de Catalunya, and the European Social Fund (ESF-2019-FI-B-00154). The authors thank Novozymes A/S for supplying r CciUPO. MM acknowledges a Catalan Government doctoral grant.

Basidiocarps of a hitherto undescribed Psathyrella species were collected during a sampling excursion in North Vietnam. They grew on deciduous deadwood in the Southeastern part of the Cúc Phương National Park (Vietnamese: Vườn quốc gia Cúc Phương), Ninh Bình Province. Herein, we describe Psathyrella euryspora sp. nov. characterized by broadly ellipsoid to broadly ovoid basidiospores (5.5–7.0 × 4–5(–6)) µm without visible germ pore, utriform to ventricose-clavate cheilocystidia, heteromorphic caulocystidia and the absence of pleurocystidia and pileocystidia. Based on an isolated pure culture, the genome was sequenced and a full ribosomal RNA gene cistron including 18S, internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS), 5.8S, ITS2 and 28S rRNA annotated. Phylogenetic analysis of P. euryspora revealed its close affiliation to the Psathyrella sect. Candolleanae species clade.

9 páginas.- 6 figuras.- 5 tablas.- 37 referencias.- The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.0c01019, Apocarotenoids are among the most highly valued fragrance constituents, being also appreciated as synthetic building blocks. This work shows the ability of unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs, EC1.11.2.1) from several fungi, some of them being described recently, to catalyze the oxyfunctionalization of α- and β-ionones and α- and β-damascones. Enzymatic reactions yielded oxygenated products such as hydroxy, oxo, carboxy, and epoxy derivatives that are interesting compounds for the flavor and fragrance and pharmaceutical industries. Although variable regioselectivity was observed depending on the substrate and enzyme, oxygenation was preferentially produced at the allylic position in the ring, being especially evident in the reaction with α-ionone, forming 3-hydroxy-α-ionone and/or 3-oxo-α-ionone. Noteworthy were the reactions with damascones, in the course of which some UPOs oxygenated the terminal position of the side chain, forming oxygenated derivatives (i.e., the corresponding alcohol, aldehyde, and carboxylic acid) at C-10, which were predominant in the Agrocybe aegerita UPO reactions, and first reported here., This work was supported by the EnzOx2 (H2020-BBI-PPP-2015-2-1-720297) EU-project and the CSIC (201740E071) project.

Xylaria multiplex is an ascomycete fungus that causes soft rot and is often associated with wood. Here, we report a draft genome sequence with an assembly size of 45.6 Mbp, a G+C content of 46.9%, and 10,964 predicted genes, including 617 that encode carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes).

Xylaria multiplex is an ascomycete fungus that causes soft rot and is often associated with wood. Here, we report a draft genome sequence with an assembly size of 45.6 Mbp, a G+C content of 46.9%, and 10,964 predicted genes, including 617 that encode carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes).

Fungal unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs, EC 1.11.2.1) form a superfamily of heme proteins and possess promiscuity for oxygen transfer reactions. The first UPO was discovered in the agaric fungus Agrocybe aegerita in 2004, and later, well-known fungal chloroperoxidase (CPO) turned out to be a phylogenetic relative (but outlier) of this enzyme type. Functionally, UPOs are extracellular monoperoxygenases that transfer one oxygen atom from a peroxide to diverse organic substrates including alkanes/alkyls, cycloalkanes/cycloalkyls, aromatics/phenyls, heterocycles, halides, etc. These target structures are subject of hydroxylation, epoxidation, O- and N-dealkylation, sulfoxidation, N-oxidation and deacylation. In many cases, the product patterns of UPOs resemble those of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450), and in fact, their catalytic cycle combines characteristics of heme peroxidases and P450s (‘peroxide shunt’). Meanwhile, several thousand putative UPO sequences that form two large clusters—‘short’ and ‘long’ peroxygenases—have been found in genetic databases and fungal genomes, indicating their widespread occurrence in the whole fungal kingdom. This includes all phyla of true fungi (Eumycota) and certain pseudofungal stramenopiles (formerly known as ‘Oomycota’). Despite their ubiquitous occurrence in the fungal kingdom, only a handful of UPOs have been characterized so far, and almost nothing substantial is known on their natural function(s). Their reliable heterologous expression remains tricky, despite all recent progress in this field.

Deadwood represents an important structural component of forest ecosystems, where it provides diverse niches for saproxylic biota. Although wood-inhabiting prokaryotes are involved in its degradation, knowledge about their diversity and the drivers of community structure is scarce. To explore the effect of deadwood substrate on microbial distribution, the present study focuses on the microbial communities of deadwood logs from 13 different tree species investigated using an amplicon based deep-sequencing analysis. Sapwood and heartwood communities were analysed separately and linked to various relevant wood physico-chemical parameters. Overall, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria represented the most dominant phyla. Microbial OTU richness and community structure differed significantly between tree species and between sapwood and heartwood. These differences were more pronounced for heartwood than for sapwood. The pH value and water content were the most important drivers in both wood compartments. Overall, investigating numerous tree species and two compartments provided a remarkably comprehensive view of microbial diversity in deadwood.

Propranolol is a widely used beta-blocker that is metabolized by human liver P450 monooxygenases into equipotent hydroxylated human drug metabolites (HDMs). It is paramount for the pharmaceutical industry to evaluate the toxicity and activity of these metabolites, but unfortunately, their synthesis has hitherto involved the use of severe conditions, with poor reaction yields and unwanted byproducts. Unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) catalyze the selective oxyfunctionalization of C–H bonds, and they are of particular interest in synthetic organic chemistry. Here, we describe the engineering of UPO from Agrocybe aegerita for the efficient synthesis of 5′-hydroxypropranolol (5′-OHP). We employed a structure-guided evolution approach combined with computational analysis, with the aim of avoiding unwanted phenoxyl radical coupling without having to dope the reaction with radical scavengers. The evolved biocatalyst showed a catalytic efficiency enhanced by 2 orders of magnitude and 99% regioselectivity for the synthesis of 5′-OHP. When the UPO mutant was combined with an H2O2 in situ generation system using methanol as sacrificial electron donor, total turnover numbers of up to 264 000 were achieved, offering a cost-effective and readily scalable method to rapidly prepare 5′-OHP., This work was supported by the European Union Project H2020-BBI-PPP-2015-2-720297-ENZOX2 and the COST Action CM1303 Systems Biocatalysis, the Spanish Government Projects BIO2016-79106-R-Lignolution and CTQ2016-70138-R, and the CSIC Project PIE-201580E042.

Nitrogen deposition can strongly affect biodiversity, but its specific effects on terrestrial microbial communities and their roles for ecosystem functions and processes are still unclear. Here, we investigated the impacts of N deposition on wood-inhabiting fungi (WIF) and their related ecological functions and processes in a highly N-limited deadwood habitat. Based on high-throughput sequencing, enzymatic activity assay and measurements of wood decomposition rates, we show that N addition has no significant effect on the overall WIF community composition or on related ecosystem functions and processes in this habitat. Nevertheless, we detected several switches in presence/absence (gain/loss) of wood-inhabiting fungal OTUs due to the effect of N addition. The responses of WIF differed from previous studies carried out with fungi living in soil and leaf-litter, which represent less N-limited fungal habitats. Our results suggest that adaptation at different levels of organization and functional redundancy may explain this buffered response and the resistant microbial-mediated ecosystem function and processes against N deposition in highly N-limited habitats.

Tyrian purple (also known as royal or imperial purple) is the oldest known commercial pigment and still one of the most expensive dyes, often associated with the wardrobes of clergy and royalty. It is a brominated derivative of indigo, a natural dye that has been used since 4000 BC. Moreover, just recently, the therapeutic value of indigoids for the treatment of several disorders was discovered. The manufacturing of indigo derivatives by the existing chemical routes has become increasingly uninteresting due to the use of aggressive reagents, expensive starting materials and high-energy costs. Thus, both dyestuff manufacturers and the pharmaceutical industry are interested in the development of gentle preparation methods of indigoids from simple precursors. Here, we describe a simple enzymatic method for the one-step synthesis of Tyrian purple and other indigo derivatives with fungal peroxygenases (UPO, EC 1.11.2.1). The reaction does not require complex co-substrates and works well in phosphate buffers with H2O2 (v/v) acetonitrile as co-solvent. We demonstrate the scaling up of the reaction to 10 Liters and established thereupon an environmentally friendly combined synthesis and in-situ dyeing process, further simplifying the manufacturing of vat-dyed fabrics. Eventually, we screened a number of halogen-substituted indoles in the search for novel indigo derivatives, which may be of interest for pharmaceutical and/or dyeing purposes.