title: The molecular response of the white-rot fungus Dichomitus squalens to wood and non-woody biomass as examined by transcriptome and exoproteome analyses.
abstract: The ability to obtain carbon and energy is a major requirement to exist in any environment. For several ascomycete fungi, (post-)genomic analyses have shown that species that occupy a large variety of habitats possess a diverse enzymatic machinery, while species with a specific habitat have a more focused enzyme repertoire that is well-adapted to the prevailing substrate. White-rot basidiomycete fungi also live in a specific habitat, as they are found exclusively in wood. In this study, we evaluated how well the enzymatic machinery of the white-rot fungus Dichomitus squalens is tailored to degrade its natural wood substrate. The transcriptome and exoproteome of D. squalens were analyzed after cultivation on two natural substrates, aspen and spruce wood, and two non-woody substrates, wheat bran and cotton seed hulls. D. squalens produced ligninolytic enzymes mainly at the early time point of the wood cultures, indicating the need to degrade lignin to get access to wood polysaccharides. Surprisingly, the response of the fungus to the non-woody polysaccharides was nearly as good a match to the substrate composition as observed for the wood polysaccharides. This indicates that D. squalens has preserved its ability to efficiently degrade plant biomass types not present in its natural habitat.
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rytioja
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kristiina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hildén
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Falco
authors.affiliation: Fungal Physiology, CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584, CT, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Miaomiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Fungal Physiology, CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584, CT, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maria Victoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Pontes
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Outi-Maaria
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Sietiö
authors.affiliation: Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsang
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Fungal Physiology, CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre & Fungal Molecular Physiology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584, CT, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ronald P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Miia R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mäkelä
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008031:Lignin / Q000378:metabolism; D028222:Picea / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D011124:Polyporaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome; D014934:Wood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D008031:Lignin