College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, China.
Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology, Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, China.
Mycotoxin Res. 2022 Nov;38(4):221-229. doi: 10.1007/s12550-022-00463-1. Epub 2022 Jul 26.
The global regulator LaeA and its orthologs govern the morphogenetic development and secondary metabolism of several filamentous ascomycetes. In Aspergillus niger, it has been shown that an LaeA ortholog (AnLaeA) regulates the production of citric acid and secondary metabolites. In this work, we constructed AnlaeA disruption and overexpression strains to investigate the roles of AnLaeA in morphological development and ochratoxin A (OTA) biosynthesis in A. niger. Phenotypic observation, chemical analysis, and gene expression analysis indicated that AnLaeA acts as a negative regulator of conidial morphogenesis and positively regulates gene expression of the OTA cluster in A. niger grown in CYA medium. However, it was observed that the upregulation of gene expression of the OTA cluster does not necessarily increase OTA production. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the AnlaeA regulatory mechanism and suggest the AnlaeA gene as a potential target for developing control strategies for A. niger infection and OTA biosynthesis.
全球调控因子 LaeA 及其同源物调控着几种丝状子囊菌的形态发生发育和次生代谢。在黑曲霉中，已经表明一个 LaeA 同源物（AnLaeA）调节柠檬酸和次生代谢物的产生。在这项工作中，我们构建了 AnlaeA 敲除和过表达菌株，以研究 AnLaeA 在形态发育和黑曲霉中 ochratoxin A（OTA）生物合成中的作用。表型观察、化学分析和基因表达分析表明，AnLaeA 作为分生孢子形态发生的负调控因子，在 CYA 培养基中生长的黑曲霉中，正调控 OTA 簇的基因表达。然而，观察到 OTA 簇基因表达的上调并不一定增加 OTA 的产生。我们的结果有助于更好地理解 AnlaeA 调控机制，并表明 AnlaeA 基因可能成为开发黑曲霉感染和 OTA 生物合成控制策略的潜在靶标。
