The production of bioethanol from non-food agricultural residues represents an alternative energy source to fossil fuels for incorporation into the world's economy. Within the context of bioconversion of plant biomass into renewable energy using improved enzymatic cocktails, Illumina RNA-seq transcriptome profiling was conducted on a strain of Aspergillus tamarii, efficient in biomass polysaccharide degradation, in order to identify genes encoding proteins involved in plant biomass saccharification. Enzyme production and gene expression was compared following growth in liquid and semi-solid culture with steam-exploded sugarcane bagasse (SB) (1% w/v) and glucose (1% w/v) employed as contrasting sole carbon sources. Enzyme production following growth in liquid minimum medium supplemented with SB resulted in 0.626 and 0.711 UI.mL-1 xylanases after 24 and 48 h incubation, respectively. Transcriptome profiling revealed expression of over 7120 genes, with groups of genes modulated according to solid or semi-solid culture, as well as according to carbon source. Gene ontology analysis of genes expressed following SB hydrolysis revealed enrichment in xyloglucan metabolic process and xylan, pectin and glucan catabolic process, indicating up-regulation of genes involved in xylanase secretion. According to carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZy) classification, 209 CAZyme-encoding genes were identified with significant differential expression on liquid or semi-solid SB, in comparison to equivalent growth on glucose as carbon source. Up-regulated CAZyme-encoding genes related to cellulases (CelA, CelB, CelC, CelD) and hemicellulases (XynG1, XynG2, XynF1, XylA, AxeA, arabinofuranosidase) showed up to a 10-fold log2FoldChange in expression levels. Five genes from the AA9 (GH61) family, related to lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO), were also identified with significant expression up-regulation. The transcription factor gene XlnR, involved in induction of hemicellulases, showed up-regulation on liquid and semi-solid SB culture. Similarly, the gene ClrA, responsible for regulation of cellulases, showed increased expression on liquid SB culture. Over 150 potential transporter genes were also identified with increased expression on liquid and semi-solid SB culture. This first comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome of A. tamarii contributes to our understanding of genes and regulatory systems involved in cellulose and hemicellulose degradation in this fungus, offering potential for application in improved enzymatic cocktail development for plant biomass degradation in biorefinery applications.
Keywords: Aspergillus tamarii; ClrA; XlnR; bioethanol; carbohydrate-active enzymes; lignocellulose; sugar transporters; transcriptome.