Filamentous fungus Penicillium oxalicum produces diverse lignocellulolytic enzymes, which are regulated by the combinations of many transcription factors. Here, a single-gene disruptant library for 470 transcription factors was constructed and systematically screened for cellulase production. Twenty transcription factors (including ClrB, CreA, XlnR, Ace1, AmyR, and 15 unknown proteins) were identified to play putative roles in the activation or repression of cellulase synthesis. Most of these regulators have not been characterized in any fungi before. We identified the ClrB, CreA, XlnR, and AmyR transcription factors as critical dose-dependent regulators of cellulase expression, the core regulons of which were identified by analyzing several transcriptomes and/or secretomes. Synergistic and additive modes of combinatorial control of each cellulase gene by these regulatory factors were achieved, and cellulase expression was fine-tuned in a proper and controlled manner. With one of these targets, the expression of the major intracellular β-glucosidase Bgl2 was found to be dependent on ClrB. The Bgl2-deficient background resulted in a substantial gene activation by ClrB and proved to be closely correlated with the relief of repression mediated by CreA and AmyR during cellulase induction. Our results also signify that probing the synergistic and dose-controlled regulation mechanisms of cellulolytic regulators and using it for reconstruction of expression regulation network (RERN) may be a promising strategy for cellulolytic fungi to develop enzyme hyper-producers. Based on our data, ClrB was identified as focal point for the synergistic activation regulation of cellulase expression by integrating cellulolytic regulators and their target genes, which refined our understanding of transcriptional-regulatory network as a “seesaw model” in which the coordinated regulation of cellulolytic genes is established by counteracting activators and repressors.

BackgroundIn cellulolytic fungi, induction and repression mechanisms synchronously regulate the synthesis of cellulolytic enzymes for accurate responses to carbon sources in the environment. Many proteins, particularly transcription regulatory factors involved in these processes, were identified and genetically engineered in Penicillium oxalicum and other cellulolytic fungi. Despite such great efforts, its effect of modifying a single target to improve the production of cellulase is highly limited.ResultsIn this study, we developed a systematic strategy for the genetic engineering of P. oxalicum to enhance cellulase yields, by enhancing induction (by blocking intracellular inducer hydrolysis and increasing the activator level) and relieving the repression. We obtained a trigenic recombinant strain named ‘RE-10’ by deleting bgl2 and creA, along with over-expressing the gene clrB. The cellulolytic ability of RE-10 was significantly improved; the filter paper activity and extracellular protein concentration increased by up to over 20- and 10-fold, respectively, higher than those of the wild-type (WT) strain 114-2 both on pure cellulose and complex wheat bran media. Most strikingly, the cellulolytic ability of RE-10 was comparable with that of the industrial P. oxalicum strain JU-A10-T obtained by random mutagenesis. Comparative proteomics analysis provided further insights into the differential secretomes between RE-10 and WT strains. In particular, the enzymes and accessory proteins involved in lignocellulose degradation were elevated specifically and dramatically in the recombinant, thereby confirming the importance of them in biomass deconstruction and implying a possible co-regulatory mechanism.ConclusionsWe established a novel route to substantially improve cellulolytic enzyme production up to the industrial level in P. oxalicum by combinational manipulation of three key genes to amplify the induction along with derepression, representing a milestone in strain engineering of filamentous fungi. Given the conservation in the mode of cellulose expression regulation among filamentous fungi, this strategy could be compatible with other cellulase-producing fungi.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-015-0253-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundLignocellulolytic enzymes are the main enzymes to saccharify lignocellulose from renewable plant biomass in the bio-based economy. The production of these enzymes is transcriptionally regulated by multiple transcription factors. We previously engineered Penicillium oxalicum for improved cellulase production via manipulation of three genes in the cellulase expression regulatory network. However, the potential of combinational engineering of multiple regulators and their targets at protein abundance and activity levels has not been fully explored.ResultsHere, we verified that a point mutation XlnRA871V in transcription factor XlnR enhanced the expression of lignocellulolytic enzymes, particularly hemicellulases, in P. oxalicum. Then, overexpression of XlnRA871V with a constitutive PDE_02864 promoter was combined with the overexpression of cellulase transcriptional activator ClrB and deletion of carbon catabolite repressor CreA. The resulted strain RE-7 showed 8.9- and 51.5-fold increased production of cellulase and xylanase relative to the starting strain M12, respectively. Further overexpression of two major cellulase genes cbh1-2 and eg1 enabled an additional 13.0% improvement of cellulase production. In addition, XlnRA871V led to decreased production of β-glucosidase and amylase, which could be attributed to the reduced transcription of corresponding enzyme-encoding genes.ConclusionsThe results illustrated that combinational manipulation of the involved transcription factors and their target genes was a viable strategy for efficient production of lignocellulolytic enzymes in filamentous fungi. The striking negative effect of XlnRA871V mutation on amylase production was also highlighted.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-017-0783-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Auxin resistant 1/like aux1 (AUX/LAX), pin-formed (PIN) and ATP binding cassette subfamily B (ABCB/MDR/PGP) are three families of auxin transport genes. The development-related functions of the influx and efflux carriers have been well studied and characterized in model plants. However, there is scant information regarding the functions of auxin genes in Chinese cabbage and the responses of exogenous polar auxin transport inhibitors (PATIs). We conducted a whole-genome annotation and a bioinformatics analysis of BrAUX/LAX, BrPIN, and BrPGP genes in Chinese cabbage. By analyzing the expression patterns at several developmental stages in the formation of heading leaves, we found that most auxin-associate genes were expressed throughout the entire process of leafy head formation, suggesting that these genes played important roles in the development of heads. UPLC was used to detect the distinct and uneven distribution of auxin in various segments of the leafy head and in response to PATI treatment, indicated that the formation of the leafy head depends on polar auxin transport and the uneven distribution of auxin in leaves. This study provides new insight into auxin polar transporters and the possible roles of the BrLAX, BrPIN and BrPGP genes in leafy head formation in Chinese cabbage.