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Abstract: In the search for an efficient producer of cellulolytic enzymes, Acremonium cellulolyticus strain C-1 was subjected to mutagenesis using UV-irradiation and N-methyl-N′nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) and strain CF-2612 was isolated. Strain CF-2612 exhibited higher filter paperase (FPase) activities (17.8 U/ml) than the parent strain C-1 (12.3 U/ml). Soluble protein production and β-glucosidase activity from strain CF-2612 were also significantly improved. FPase activity, cellulase productivity and yield of CF-2612 using batch culture with 5% Solka Floc in a 2-l jar fermentor at 30 °C reached 18.0 U/ml, 150.0 FPU/l/h and 360.0 FPU/g carbohydrate, respectively; when fed-batch culture was used with Solka Floc, these values reached 34.6 U/ml, 240.3 FPU/l/h and 346.0 FPU/g carbohydrate, respectively. It was observed that more hydrolyzed glucose was released from pretreated eucalyptus with the enzyme of strain CF-2612, compared with that of the commercial cellulase GC-220. This result was attributed to the higher ratio of β-glucosidase/FPase activity of strain CF-2612. Three distinguishable phases including the periods of primary or second mycelial growth and mycelial fragmentation were proposed in batch culture by A. cellulolyticus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Acremonium cellulolyticus is a fungus that produces cellulase and has been exploited by enzyme industry. To promote cellulase production by A. cellulolyticus strain C-1, we evaluated the effects of the saccharides: Solka Floc (cellulose), soluble soybean polysaccharide (SSPS), pullulan, lactose, trehalose, sophorose, cellobiose, galactose, sorbose, lactobionic acid, and mixtures as carbon sources for cellulase production. Solka Floc with SSPS enhanced cellulase production. Lactose as the sole carbon source induced cellulase synthesis in this fungus, and the synergistic effects between lactose and Solka Floc was observed. Various enzyme activities and the protein composition of crude enzyme produced by cultures with or without addition of lactose were analyzed. The results showed that lactose addition greatly improves the production of various proteins with cellulase activity by A. cellulolyticus. To our knowledge, this is the first report on production of cellulases by lactose in the A. cellulolyticus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The ascomycete Trichoderma reesei is one of the most efficient industrial producers of cellulase. Gene targeting by homologous recombination is a key technique for improving strains and constructing mutants. In T. reesei, tku70 (homologous to human KU70) was deleted to block non-homologous end-joining, which led to 95% of transformants exhibiting homologous recombination. Results: Two genes located in close proximity to tku70 were identified: the ferrochelatase gene hem8 (tre78582, homologous to Aspergillus niger hemH and Cryptococcus neoformans HEM15) and a putative DNA methylation modulator-2 gene dmm2 (tre108087, homologous to Neurospora crassa dmm-2). Genome-wide surveys of 324 sequenced fungal genomes revealed that the homologues of the three genes of interest are encoded in tandem in most Sordariomycetes. The expression of this three-gene cluster is regulated by blue light. The roles of these three genes were analyzed via deletion and complementation tests. The gene hem8 was originally described as a novel and highly distinct auxotrophic marker in T. reesei and we found that the product protein, HEM8, catalyzes the final step in heme biosynthesis from highly photoreactive porphyrins. The lethal phenotype of the hem8 deletion could be overcome by hematin supplementation. We also studied the functions of tku70 and dmm2 in DNA repair using mutagen sensitivity experiments. We found that the Δtku70 strain showed increased sensitivity to bleomycin, which induces DNA double-strand breaks, and that the Δdmm2 strain was sensitive to bleomycin, camptothecin (an inhibitor of type I topoisomerases), and hydroxyurea (a deoxynucleotide synthesis inhibitor). The double-mutant Δtku70&dmm2 showed higher sensitivity to hydroxyurea, camptothecin, and bleomycin than either of the single mutants. Knockout of dmm2 significantly increased cellulase production. Conclusions: Our data show, for the first time, that ferrochelatase encoded by hem8 catalyzes the final step in heme biosynthesis from highly photoreactive porphyrins and that dmm2 encodes a putative DNA methylation modulator-2 protein related to DNA repair and cellulase expression in T. reesei. Our data provide important insights into the roles of this three-gene cluster in T. reesei and other Sordariomycetes and show that the DNA methylation modulator DMM2 affects cellulase gene expression in T. reesei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auxiliary activity family 9 (AA9) lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) show significant synergism with cellulase in cellulose degradation. In recent years, there have been many reports on AA9 LPMOs; however, the identification of efficient and thermostable AA9 LPMOs with broad potential for industrial applications remains necessary. In this study, a new AA9 LPMO from Talaromyces cellulolyticus, named TcAA9A, was identified. An analysis of the oxidation products of phosphoric acid-swollen cellulose categorized TcAA9A as a type 3 AA9 LPMO, and TcAA9A exhibited a better synergistic effect with cellulase from Trichoderma reesei than what is seen with TaAA9A, a well-studied AA9 LPMO from Thermoascus aurantiacus. Two AA9 LPMOs were successfully expressed in T. reesei, and the transformants were named TrTcAA9A and TrTaAA9A. The activities and thermostabilities of the AA9 LPMOs in TrTcAA9A were higher than those of the AA9 LPMOs in TrTaAA9A or the parent. The enzyme solution of TrTcAA9A was more efficient than that of the parent or TrTaAA9A for the degradation of Avicel and delignified corncob residue. Thus, TcAA9A showed a better performance than TaAA9A in T. reesei cellulase cocktails. This study may offer an innovative solution for improving enzyme cocktail activity for lignocellulosic degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential of cellulase enzymes in the developing and ongoing “biorefinery” industry has provided a great motivation to develop an efficient cellulase mixture. Recent work has shown how important the role that the so-called accessory enzymes can play in an effective enzymatic hydrolysis. In this study, three newest Novozymes Cellic CTec cellulase preparations (CTec 1/2/3) were compared to hydrolyze steam pretreated lignocellulosic substrates and model substances at an identical FPA loading. These cellulase preparations were found to display significantly different hydrolytic performances irrelevant with the FPA. And this difference was even observed on the filter paper itself when the FPA based assay was revisited. The analysis of specific enzyme activity in cellulase preparations demonstrated that different accessory enzymes were mainly responsible for the discrepancy of enzymatic hydrolysis between diversified substrates and various cellulases. Such the active role of accessory enzymes present in cellulase preparations was finally verified by supplementation with β-glucosidase, xylanase and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases AA9. This paper provides new insights into the role of accessory enzymes, which can further provide a useful reference for the rational customization of cellulase cocktails in order to realize an efficient conversion of natural lignocellulosic substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichoderma reesei is the most important industrial cellulase-producing filamentous fungus. Although its molecular physiology has been investigated, the signal transduction pathways are not fully understood. In particular, the role of casein kinase II (CKII) is not yet clear. In this work, we carried out functional investigations on a catalytic subunit of CKII, CKIIα2. Comparison of the phenotypic features of T. reesei parent and Δck2α2 strains showed significant changes following ck2α2 disruption. T. reesei Δck2α2 form significantly smaller mycelial pellets in glucose-containing liquid minimum media, have shorter and fewer branch hyphae, produce smaller amounts of chitinases, produce more spores, show more robust growth on glucose-containing agar plates, and consume glucose at a significantly higher rate. Suggestions can be made that CKIIα2 governs chitinase expression, and the disruption of ck2α2 results in lower levels of chitinase production, leading to a weaker cell wall disruption capability, further resulting in weaker hyphal branching, which eventually leads to smaller mycelial pellets in liquid media. Further conclusions can be made that CKIIα2 is involved in repression of sporulation and glucose metabolism, which is consistent with the proposal that CKIIα2 represses global metabolism. These observations make the deletion of ck2α2 a potentially beneficial genetic disruption for T. reesei during industrial applications, as smaller mycelial pellets, more spores and more robust glucose metabolism are all desired traits for industrial fermentation. This work reports novel unique functions of a CKII catalytic subunit and is also the first genetic and physiological investigation on CKII in T. reesei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The highly similar erp in T. reesei and P. decumbens function in distinct pathways. [•] Sporulation is hampered in T. reesei Δerp but not in P. decumbens Δerp. [•] Erp is likely involved in hyphae polarity maintenance in T. reesei. [•] P. decumbens and T. reesei have different responses to secretion stress. [•] P. decumbens activates cellulase transcription upon secretion stress mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Improvement of agitation is a commonly used approach for the optimization of fermentation processes. In this report, the response to improving agitation rate from 150 to 250 rpm on cellulase production from Penicillium decumbens JUA10-1 was investigated. It was shown that the production of all the major components of the cellulase mixture increased following improved agitation. Further investigations showed that at least three factors are involved in this improvement: the improved biomass accumulation, proportion of active/mature cellulases, and cellulase transcription level. The transcription levels of the cellulase repressing transcription factor ace1 and the cellulase activating transcription factor xlnR, however, both declined when a higher agitation was applied. These observations, along with our analysis of the carbon catabolite repressor CreA, lead to the suggestion that the molecular mechanism underlying improved cellulase transcription is the competition of two concurrent effects following improved agitation: CreA-mediated derepression induced by the downregulation of ace1, and CreA-mediated deactivation induced by the downregulation of xlnR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lignocellulosic biomass is an underutilized, renewable resource that can be converted to biofuels. The key step in this conversion is cellulose saccharification catalyzed by cellulase. In this work, the effect of metal ions on cellulose hydrolysis by cellulases from Penicillium decumbens was reported for the first time. Fe3+ and Cu2+ were shown to be inhibitory. Further studies on Fe3+ inhibition showed the inhibition takes place on both enzyme and substrate levels. Fe3+ treatment damages cellulases’ capability to degrade cellulose and inhibits all major cellulase activities. Fe3+ treatment also reduces the digestibility of cellulose, due to its oxidation. Treatment of Fe3+-treated cellulose with DTT and supplementation of EDTA to saccharification systems partially relieved Fe3+ inhibition. It was concluded that Fe3+ inhibition in cellulose degradation is a complicated process in which multiple inhibition events occur, and that relief from Fe3+ inhibition can be achieved by the supplementation of reducing or chelating agents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Cellulases and hemicellulases are key enzymes in the production of alternative fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass—an abundant renewable resource. Carbon source selection is an important factor in the production of cellulases and hemicellulases. Rice straw – a potential ethanol source – has recently gained considerable interest in Asian countries. Here, we investigated the production of cellulases by using rice straw subjected to various pretreatments as substrates in order to produce cellulases at low costs; we also identified the enzymes’ characteristics. Rice straw cutter milled to <3mm was pretreated by wet disk milling, dry ball milling, or hot-compressed water treatment (HCWT). Pretreated rice straw and commercial cellulose, Solka Floc (SF), were used as carbon sources for cellulase production by the fungus Acremonium cellulolyticus. Filter paper cellulase, β-xylanase, and β-xylosidase production from ball- and disk-milled samples were higher than those from SF. Enzymatic activity was absent in cultures where HCWT rice straw was used as carbon source. Wet disk-milled rice straw cultures were more suitable for enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated rice straw than SF cultures. Thus, wet disk milling may be a suitable pretreatment for producing substrates for enzymatic hydrolysis and generating inexpensive carbon sources for cellulase production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trichoderma reesei is widely used for cellulase production and accepted as an example for cellulase research. Cre1-mediated carbon catabolite repression (CCR) can significantly inhibit the transcription of cellulase genes during cellulase fermentation in T. reesei. Early efforts have been undertaken to modify Cre1 for the release of CCR; however, this approach leads to arrested hyphal growth and decreased biomass accumulation, which negatively affects cellulase production. Results: In this study, novel fusion transcription factors (fTFs) were designed to release or attenuate CCR inhibition in cellulase transcription, while Cre1 was left intact to maintain normal hyphal growth. Four designed fTFs were introduced into the T. reesei genome, which generated several transformants, named Kuace3, Kuclr2, Kuace2, and Kuxyr1. No obvious differences in growth were observed between the parent and transformant strains. However, the transcription levels of cel7a, a major cellulase gene, were significantly elevated in all the transformants, particularly in Kuace2 and Kuxyr1, when grown on lactose as a carbon source. This suggested that CCR inhibition was released or attenuated in the transformant strains. The growth of Kuace2 and Kuxyr1 was approximately equivalent to that of the parent strain in fed-batch fermentation process. However, we observed a 3.2- and 2.1-fold increase in the pNPCase titers of the Kuace2 and Kuxyr1 strains, respectively, compared with that of the parent strain. Moreover, we observed a 6.1- and 3.9-fold increase in the pNPCase titers of the Kuace2 and Kuxyr1 strains, respectively, compared with that of Δcre1 strain. Conclusions: A new strategy based on fTFs was successfully established in T. reesei to improve cellulase titers without impairing fungal growth. This study will be valuable for lignocellulosic biorefining and for guiding the development of engineering strategies for producing other important biochemical compounds in fungal species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]