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Trametes villosa is a remarkable white-rot fungus (WRF) with the potential to be applied in lignocellulose conversion to obtain chemical compounds and biofuels. Lignocellulose breakdown by WRF is carried out through the secretion of oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes. Despite the existing knowledge about this process, the complete molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of this metabolic system have not yet been elucidated. Therefore, in order to understand the genes and metabolic pathways regulated during lignocellulose degradation, the strain T. villosa CCMB561 was cultured in media with different carbon sources (lignin, sugarcane bagasse, and malt extract). Subsequently, biochemical assays and differential gene expression analysis by qPCR and high-throughput RNA sequencing were carried out. Our results revealed the ability of T. villosa CCMB561 to grow on lignin (AL medium) as the unique carbon source. An overexpression of Cytochrome P450 was detected in this medium, which may be associated with the lignin O-demethylation pathway. Clusters of up-regulated CAZymes-encoding genes were identified in lignin and sugarcane bagasse, revealing that T. villosa CCMB561 acts simultaneously in the depolymerization of lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. Furthermore, genes encoding nitroreductases and homogentisate-1,2-dioxygenase that act in the degradation of organic pollutants were up-regulated in the lignin medium. Altogether, these findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of lignocellulose degradation by T. villosa and confirm the ability of this fungal species to be applied in biorefineries and in the bioremediation of organic pollutants.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized mainly by the accumulation of Amyloid-β oligomers (Aβo) in the brain that leads to hyperphosphorylation and polymerization of the Tau protein in neurofibrillary tangles, which is associated with neuronal death. The initial stage of the disease is due to the production and accumulation of Aβo which is produced from the cleavage of the Amyloid-β precursor protein (APP) by the β-secretase (BACE1) enzyme. Growing evidences indicate that the cellular prion (PrPc) can restrict the activity of BACE1 and, therefore, interrupt the production and toxicity of Aβo. Studies also suggest that the Aβo-PrPc interaction is necessary to trigger the synaptotoxic effects, which depend on the Aβo stimulus. Here we presented an in-depth review of PrPc and its involvement with AD to understand if PrPc can be a marker or target in AD.

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, a facultative intracellular pathogen, causes caseous lymphadenitis, a disease of veterinary importance in small ruminants. In order to reduce the economic losses caused by the disease, an effective prophylactic measure is necessary. We adopted an immunoinformatic approach to evaluate the immunological profile of sortases C and E. For this, we performed homology analysis, searched for T and B cell epitopes, evaluated immunogenic capacity, toxicity and allergenicity, and the conservation of these epitopes in different C. pseudotuberculosis strains. The tertiary structure of the protein was predicted, and molecular docking analysis with TLR-2 was performed. Physicochemical parameters of the two sortases were also evaluated. Sortases C and E were observed to produce cellular immunity through specific epitopes for T lymphocytes, humoral immunity through epitopes of B lymphocytes, and also exhibited a high binding capacity to toll-like receptor 2. We filtered and selected six sortase C and two sortase E non-toxic and non-allergenic epitopes and confirmed their interaction with the OVAR-N*0201 allele of sheep. Our results indicate that sortase C and E have important epitopes that participate in the course of C. pseudotuberculosis infection and can serve as immunobiological candidates in the prevention of caseous lymphadenitis.

Herein, we present the draft genome of Trametes villosa isolate CCMB561, a wood-decaying Basidiomycota commonly found in tropical semiarid climate. The genome assembly was 57.98 Mb in size with an L50 of 691. A total of 16,711 putative protein-encoding genes was predicted, including 590 genes coding for carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZy), directly involved in the decomposition of lignocellulosic materials. This is the first genome of this species of high interest in bioenergy research. The draft genome of Trametes villosa isolate CCMB561 will provide an important resource for future investigations in biofuel production, bioremediation and other green technologies.