Analysis of global regulation of gene expression of catabolite repression during the formation of cellulases by Trichoderma reesei (Hypocrea jecorina)

Abstract

Trichoderma reesei (Hypocrea jecorina) is a saprophytic fungus that degrades efficiently polysaccharides from plant cell wall. T. reesei shows a surprising capacity to form and secrete cellulases, being the most important in industrial production of enzymes that are used, among other purposes, in the biofuels industry. The transcription of most components of the complex of cellulases is induced not only by cellulose, but also by a series of disaccharides including lactose, cellobiose and sophorose and it is antagonized by glucose. However, little is known about the nature of the inducer and the signaling pathways involved in this process. This project aims to understand the mechanisms of catabolite repression during formation of cellulase by the fungus T. reesei and the signaling pathways involved in this process. As strategy, genomic techniques will be used. cDNA libraries will be constructed in different conditions mentioned above and sequenced using Massal Parallel Sequencing (NGS-Next Generation Sequencing) (RNAseq) and the expression of differentially expressed genes will be validated by Real Time PCR (qRT-PCR). With the obtained data, we will construct a model of gene expression using bioinformatics tools, which will let a better understanding of the behavior of gene expression of cellulolytic enzymes produced by T. reesei, contributing to its application in the biofuels industry. (AU)