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RNA-sequencing reveals the complexities of the transcriptional response to lignocellulosic biofuel substrates in Aspergillus niger

Overview of attention for article published in Fungal Biology and Biotechnology, November 2014
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Title
RNA-sequencing reveals the complexities of the transcriptional response to lignocellulosic biofuel substrates in Aspergillus niger
Published in
Fungal Biology and Biotechnology, November 2014
DOI 10.1186/s40694-014-0003-x
Pubmed ID
Authors

Steven T Pullan, Paul Daly, Stéphane Delmas, Roger Ibbett, Matthew Kokolski, Almar Neiteler, Jolanda M van Munster, Raymond Wilson, Martin J Blythe, Sanyasi Gaddipati, Gregory A Tucker, David B Archer

Abstract

Saprobic fungi are the predominant industrial sources of Carbohydrate Active enZymes (CAZymes) used for the saccharification of lignocellulose during the production of second generation biofuels. The production of more effective enzyme cocktails is a key objective for efficient biofuel production. To achieve this objective, it is crucial to understand the response of fungi to lignocellulose substrates. Our previous study used RNA-seq to identify the genes induced in Aspergillus niger in response to wheat straw, a biofuel feedstock, and showed that the range of genes induced was greater than previously seen with simple inducers. In this work we used RNA-seq to identify the genes induced in A. niger in response to short rotation coppice willow and compared this with the response to wheat straw from our previous study, at the same time-point. The response to willow showed a large increase in expression of genes encoding CAZymes. Genes encoding the major activities required to saccharify lignocellulose were induced on willow such as endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases and xylanases. The transcriptome response to willow had many similarities with the response to straw with some significant differences in the expression levels of individual genes which are discussed in relation to differences in substrate composition or other factors. Differences in transcript levels include higher levels on wheat straw from genes encoding enzymes classified as members of GH62 (an arabinofuranosidase) and CE1 (a feruloyl esterase) CAZy families whereas two genes encoding endoglucanases classified as members of the GH5 family had higher transcript levels when exposed to willow. There were changes in the cocktail of enzymes secreted by A. niger when cultured with willow or straw. Assays for particular enzymes as well as saccharification assays were used to compare the enzyme activities of the cocktails. Wheat straw induced an enzyme cocktail that saccharified wheat straw to a greater extent than willow. Genes not encoding CAZymes were also induced on willow such as hydrophobins as well as genes of unknown function. Several genes were identified as promising targets for future study. By comparing this first study of the global transcriptional response of a fungus to willow with the response to straw, we have shown that the inducing lignocellulosic substrate has a marked effect upon the range of transcripts and enzymes expressed by A. niger. The use by industry of complex substrates such as wheat straw or willow could benefit efficient biofuel production.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 58 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Mexico 1 2%
Sweden 1 2%
Denmark 1 2%
Unknown 55 95%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 16 28%
Researcher 11 19%
Student > Master 8 14%
Student > Bachelor 6 10%
Student > Doctoral Student 4 7%
Other 8 14%
Unknown 5 9%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 25 43%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 13 22%
Environmental Science 2 3%
Unspecified 2 3%
Chemical Engineering 2 3%
Other 7 12%
Unknown 7 12%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 30 September 2017.
All research outputs
#17,775,656
of 22,830,751 outputs
Outputs from Fungal Biology and Biotechnology
#121
of 140 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#246,359
of 360,820 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Fungal Biology and Biotechnology
#6
of 7 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,830,751 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 19th percentile – i.e., 19% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 140 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.1. This one is in the 10th percentile – i.e., 10% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 360,820 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 27th percentile – i.e., 27% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 7 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one.