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Fungi constitute an invaluable natural resource for scientific research, owing to their diversity; they offer a promising alternative for bioprospecting, thus contributing to biotechnological advances. For a long time, extensive information has been exploited and fungal products have been tested as a source of natural compounds. In this context, enzyme production remains a field of interest, since it offers an efficient alternative to the hazardous processes of chemical transformations. Owing to their vast biodiversity and peculiar biochemical characteristics, two fungal categories, white-rot and anaerobic Neocallimastigomycota, have gathered considerable attention for biotechnological applications. These fungi are known for their ability to depolymerize complex molecular structures and are used in degradation of lignocellulosic biomass, improvement of animal feed digestibility, biogas and bioethanol production, and various other applications. However, there are only limited reports that describe proteolytic enzymes and esterases in these fungi and their synergistic action with lignocellulolytic enzymes on degradation of complex polymers. Thus, in this minireview, we focus on the importance of these organisms in enzyme technology, their bioprospecting, possibility of integration of their enzyme repertoire, and their prospects for future biotechnological innovation.

Sugarcane, a major crop grown in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world, is produced mainly for sucrose, which is used as a sweetener or for the production of bioethanol. Among the numerous pests that significantly affect the yield of sugarcane, the sugarcane rhizome borer (Migdolus fryanus, a cerambycidae beetle) is known to cause severe damage to the crops in Brazil. The absence of molecular information about this insect reinforces the need for studies and an effective method to control this pest. In this study, RNA-Seq technology was employed to study different parts of M. fryanus larvae. The generated data will help in further investigations about the taxonomy, development, and adaptation of this insect. RNA was extracted from six different parts (head, fat body, integument, hindgut, midgut, and foregut) using Trizol methodology. Using Illumina paired-end sequencing technology and the Trinity platform, trimming and de novo assembly was performed, resulting in 44,567 contigs longer than 200 nt for a reunion of data from all transcriptomes, with a mean length of 1,095.27 nt. Transcripts were annotated using BLAST against different protein databanks (Uniprot/Swissprot, PFAM, KEEG, SignalP 4.1, Gene Ontology, and CAZY) and were compared for similarity using a Venn diagram. Differential expression patterns were studied for select genes through qPCR and FPKM comprising important protein families (digestive peptidases, glucosyl hydrolases, serine protease inhibitors and otopetrin), which allowed a better understanding of the insect’s digestion, immunity and gravity sensorial mechanisms.

Peptidases are enzymes that cleave peptide bonds, yielding proteins and peptides. Enzymes in this class also perform several other functions, regulating the activation or inactivation of target substrates via proteolysis. Owing to these functions, peptidases have been extensively used in industrial and biotechnological applications. Given their potential functions, it is important to optimize the use of these enzymes, which requires determination of the specificity of each peptidase. The peptidase specificity must be taken into account in choosing a peptidase to catalyze the available protein source within the desired application. The specificity of a peptidase defines the profile of enzyme–substrate interactions, and for this the catalytic site and the arrangement of the amino acid residues involved in peptide bond cleavage need to be known. The catalytic sites of peptidases may be composed of several subsites that interact with amino acid residues for proteolysis. Filamentous fungi produce peptidases with varying specificity, and here we provide a review of those reported to date and their potential applications.

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