Profiling the transcriptional regulatory landscape in Trichoderma reesei through ChIP-Seq and ATAC-Seq

• Grant number: 23/12805-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: March 04, 2024
• End date: March 03, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Roberto do Nascimento Silva
• Grantee: David Batista Maués
• Supervisor: Zachary A Lewis
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Georgia, Athens (UGA), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/01580-7 - Characterization and engineering of new transcription factors involved in the stress response during cellulase production by Trichoderma reesei, BP.DR

Abstract

Trichoderma reesei is a saprophytic fungus widely known for its ability to produce large amounts of cellulases. These enzymes are critical for the production of high-value bioproducts from lignocellulosic biomass (LCB), such as ethanol. The cellulolytic system of T. reesei is finely regulated at the transcriptional level, and several transcription factors (TFs) coordinate the expression of enzymes, transporters, and other proteins associated to the deconstruction of LCB. Studies from our laboratory (FAPESP Project number 2021/01580-7) have identified four TFs potentially involved in regulating cellulase expression in T. reesei: Nsd3, Srr1, Atf1 and Hsf1. Further characterization of these TFs revealed that they are involved in diverse physiological processes in T. reesei: cellulase production, stress response, calcium metabolism, maintenance of cell wall integrity, conidiation, and production of secondary metabolites. This project aims to use high-throughput techniques to gain new insights into the role of these TFs in the physiology of T. reesei. To this end, we will perform Chromatin Immunoprecipitation followed by Sequencing (ChIP-Seq) to identify direct targets of these TFs. In addition, the Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin Sequencing (ATAC-Seq) will be used to analyze the impact of these TFs on chromatin accessibility and gene expression. Data obtained using these approaches can be used to identify novel genes and pathways involved in cellulase production and stress response. Our results may contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of holocellulase production and the biology and physiology of the industrial fungus T. reesei.