Análise global da expressão gênica durante a formação de celulases pelo fungo Trichoderma reesei

CASTRO, L. S. Global analysis of gene expression during the formation of cellulases by Trichoderma reesei 2015. 290f. Thesis (PhD) Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto-SP, 2015. The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei (Hypocrea jecorina) is a major producer of cellulolytic enzymes used for biofuels production from lignocellulosic biomass. In order to achieve a low cost second generation ethanol production in industrial scale, an efficient mix of hydrolytic enzymes are required for the degradation of plant biomass into fermentable sugars. Given the growing demand for development of processes in order to reduce the cost of enzymes production, the present work proposes a large-scale transcriptomic analysis of T. reesei in presence of cellulose, sophorose, and glucose as carbon sources, in order to provide insights about the mechanisms of enzymes production by this microorganism. For this purpose, RNA-seq approach was employed, as well, as two T. reesei strains: QM9414 (parental) and Δxyr1 (mutant). In Chapter I, 22 genes encoding cellulases and xylanases were analyzed regarding the regulation through the transcription factor XYR1. This regulation seems to occur in a carbon source dependence manner, and the expression of cellulases and xylanases was diminished in the mutant strain compared to the parental strain in the presence of cellulose and sophorose. In glucose, most of the analyzed genes showed higher expression in the mutant compared to the parental strain. In silico analysis identified a cis regulatory element for XYR1 using four datasets of condition-dependent genes based on RNA-seq and qPCR experiments. Two binding motifs have been identified with the proposed consensus for the XYR1 (named PWMXYR1). Using these motifs, the presence and arrangement of putative cis regulatory elements was analyzed, and the results indicate that the sites with short intervals were stronger associated with XYR1 dependent promoters than single sites, even with high scores. Moreover, this approach allowed the identification of XYR1 binding sites in the promoter region of cel7a and xyn1, as well as, map the potential target sequence in the promoter of cel6a gene. In addition, seven other promoters from genes cel7b, cel61a, cel61b, cel3c, cel3d, xyn3 and swo presented XYR1 putative binding sites. Using the cis-regulatory architecture of PWMXYR1, potential targets for direct regulation by XYR1were identified in a genome wide manner. The putative binding sites were also mapped in the differentially expressed genes identified in the mutant strain Δxyr1, suggesting that indirect regulation plays a key role in signaling pathways. Taken together, the data provided here provides important information regarding signaling mechanisms mediated by XYR1 in the regulation of cellulases promoters. In Chapter II, the transcriptome of the parental strain (QM9414) was analyzed in three carbon sources, cellulose, sophorose and glucose. By applying a stringent cut-off threshold, 2,060 genes were identified as differentially expressed in at least one of the carbon sources analyzed. Hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed genes identified three possible regulons, representing 123 genes controlled by cellulose, 154 genes controlled by sophorose and 402 genes controlled by glucose. The analysis of the regulatory network demonstrated the interrelation between the conditions, allowing the identification of 75 genes specifically expressed in soforose and 107 in cellulose. These results revealed new players involved in cellulose degradation, such as accessory proteins, transporters, transcription factors and CAZymes, that specifically respond to the presence of either cellulose or sophorose. In Chapter III, a genome wide comparative transcriptional analysis were performed between the mutant Δxyr1 strain and the parental strain (QM9414) using the three carbon sources. Gene expression analysis revealed 2,185 genes differentially expressed in cellulose, 2124 genes in sophorose and 46 genes in glucose. These differentially expressed genes were used to analyze the relationship between the conditions, revealing a greater number of exclusive genes in theinducing conditions (cellulose and sophorose). The hierarchical clustering analysis revealed 6 possible regulons, being three composed by upregulated genes and 3 regulons composed by down-regulated genes. In the absence of the regulator XYR1, the expression of CAZy genes, transcription factors among other genes were affected in a carbon-dependent manner. These analyses showed that the transcription factor XYR1 has an essential role in induction of enzymes of biotechnological interest and participates in other biochemical/molecular processes. Taken together these results provide important information about the molecular events, involved in gene expression regulation during T. reesei adaptation to different environments such as: carbon sources and/or nutritional needs, thus contributing to a better understanding of this filamentous fungus regarding the the production of enzymes and the development of mutants for industrial applications.