BACKGROUND

The filamentous fungus produces cellulase enzymes that are widely studied for lignocellulose bioconversion to biofuel. ,-dimethylformamide (DMF) is a versatile organic solvent used in large quantities in industries.

RESULTS

In this study, we serendipitously found that biologically relevant concentrations of extracellular DMF-induced cellulase production in the hyper-cellulolytic mutant Rut-C30 and wild-type strain QM6a. Next, by transcriptome analysis, we determined that - encoding phospholipase C was activated by DMF and revealed that cytosolic Ca plays a vital role in the response of to DMF. Using EGTA (a putative extracellular Ca chelator) and LaCl (a plasma membrane Ca channel blocker), we demonstrated that DMF induced a cytosolic Ca burst via extracellular Ca and Ca channels in , and that the cytosolic Ca burst induced by DMF-mediated overexpression of cellulase through calcium signaling. Deletion of confirmed that calcium signaling plays a dominant role in DMF-induced cellulase production. Additionally, 0.5-2% DMF increases the permeability of mycelia for cellulase release. Simultaneous supplementation with 1% DMF and 10 mM Mn to Rut-C30 increased cellulase activity approximately fourfold compared to that without treatment and was also more than that observed in response to either treatment alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results reveal that DMF-induced cellulase production via calcium signaling and permeabilization. Our results also provide insight into the role of calcium signaling in enzyme production for enhanced cellulase production and the development of novel inducers of cellulase.