Department of Biotechnology, VIBT-EQ Extremophile Center, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190, Vienna, Austria.
Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 12;7(1):11436. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-11807-8.
Cladophialophora immunda is an ascomycotal species belonging to the group of the black yeasts. These fungi have a thick and melanized cell wall and other physiological adaptations that allows them to cope with several extreme physical and chemical conditions. Member of the group can colonize some of the most extremophilic environments on Earth. Cladophialophora immunda together with a few other species of the order Chaetothyriales show a special association with hydrocarbon polluted environments. The finding that the fungus is able to completely mineralize toluene makes it an interesting candidate for bioremediation purposes. The present study is the first transcriptomic investigation of a fungus grown in presence of toluene as sole carbon and energy source. We could observe the activation of genes involved in toluene degradatation and several stress response mechanisms which allowed the fungus to survive the toluene exposure. The thorough comparative genomics analysis allowed us to identify several events of horizontal gene transfer between bacteria and Cladophialophora immunda and unveil toluene degradation steps that were previously reported in bacteria. The work presented here aims to give new insights into the ecology of Cladophialophora immunda and its adaptation strategies to hydrocarbon polluted environments.
未经曲霉是一种子囊菌物种，属于黑酵母群。这些真菌具有厚而黑化的细胞壁和其他生理适应能力，使它们能够应对多种极端的物理和化学条件。该群的成员可以在地球上一些最极端的环境中定殖。未经曲霉与该目（Chaetothyriales）的其他几个种一起，与烃类污染环境表现出特殊的关联。该真菌能够完全矿化甲苯的发现使其成为生物修复目的的有趣候选物。本研究是首次对以甲苯作为唯一碳源和能源生长的真菌进行转录组学研究。我们观察到了参与甲苯降解的基因的激活，以及几种使真菌能够耐受甲苯暴露的应激反应机制。彻底的比较基因组学分析使我们能够鉴定出细菌和未经曲霉之间的几次水平基因转移事件，并揭示了以前在细菌中报道的甲苯降解步骤。这里介绍的工作旨在深入了解未经曲霉的生态学及其对烃类污染环境的适应策略。
