Integration of Physiological, Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Reveals Molecular Mechanism of Response to Zn Stress.

Utilizing mycoremediation is an important direction for managing heavy metal pollution. Zn pollution has gradually become apparent, but there are few reports about its pollution remediation. Here, the Zn remediation potential of , an anamorph of the entomopathogenic fungus , was explored. There was 60% Zn removed by mycelia from a Zn-contaminated medium. To reveal the Zn tolerance mechanism of , transcriptomic and metabolomic were executed. Results showed that Zn caused a series of stress responses, such as energy metabolism inhibition, oxidative stress, antioxidant defense system disruption, autophagy obstruction, and DNA damage. Moreover, metabolomic analyses showed that the biosynthesis of some metabolites was affected against Zn stress. In order to improve the tolerance to Zn stress, the metabolic mechanism of metal ion transport, extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) synthesis, and microcycle conidiation were activated in . Remarkably, the formation of microcycle conidiation may be triggered by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. This study supplemented the gap of the Zn resistance mechanism of and provided a reference for the application of in the bioremediation of heavy metals pollution.