Regulation of the lignocellulolytic response in filamentous fungi

Publication date: July 2016 Source:Fungal Biology Reviews, Volume 30, Issue 3 Author(s): Lori B. Huberman, Jason Liu, Lina Qin, N. Louise Glass Lignocellulose is an abundant waste product of agricultural and processing industries that can be utilized as a renewable fuel substitute for petroleum-based fuels. Saprophytic filamentous fungi are an important source of plant cell wall degrading enzymes necessary to break down the complex carbohydrates found in plant cell walls into simple sugars. Zinc binuclear cluster transcription factors activate the transcription of plant cell wall degrading enzymes when fungal cells are exposed to plant biomass. Nutrient sensing pathways that prioritize the use of preferred carbon sources act upstream of these transcription factors to inhibit the energy intensive production of cell wall degrading enzymes when unnecessary, while downstream feedback from the fungal secretory system also acts to regulate the production of these enzymes. Understanding the regulation of the fungal lignocellulolytic response will be important as we strive to increase the efficiency of production of these enzymes.

Source: Fungal Biology Reviews - July 30, 2016 Category: Biology Source Type: research