Regulation of the transcriptional response to environmental stresses in fungi: analysis of cDNA microarrays from Trichoderma reesei

Author(s)

Ari José Scattone Ferreira

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Conjunto das Químicas (IQ e FCF) (CQ/DBDCQ)
• Defense date: 2006-02-13

Examining board members

Suely Lopes Gomes; Pio Colepicolo Neto; Gustavo Henrique Goldman; Aline Maria da Silva; Marcelo Menossi Teixeira

• Advisor: Hamza Fahmi Ali El Dorry

Abstract

The diversity of organisms found today in our planet is due to their adaptation to different environmental conditions present in each ecological niche, and to the adaptative response originated from changes in those conditions. The first step in the adaptation process is considered to be the reprogramming of gene expression as an immediate response to a new environmental condition. A fraction of the genome from all living organisms is dedicated to encoding proteins related to the control of deleterious effects created by different types of stresses like heat or osmotic shock, oxidative stress, or by the presence of high concentrations of heavy metal ions. Similarly, the absence or exhaustion of macronutrients as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous or sulphur sources demand new patterns of gene expression in order to the organisms survive in a limited nutritional condition, which is also considered an environmental stress. Once the gene expression analyses in fungi as a response to environmental stresses have been widely studied in the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizossacharomyces pombe, we proposed to study such response in the multicellular filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. To this purpose, we have utilized the cDNA microarray technique to analyze the gene expression of approximately 2,000 T. reesei transcripts in response to heat shock, to high concentration of cadmium II ions and to a 2-hour absence of carbon or nitrogen source. As a general response to the four studied stresses, we observed on one hand a negative transcriptional regulation of genes involved in processes that demand great amounts of energy, i.e. a negative regulation of protein synthesis, indicated by strong repression of ribosomal protein genes transcription, as well as a negative regulation of anabolism. On the other hand, genes that encode proteins associated with cellular defense, like chaperones, had their expression induced. The responses to heat shock and to cadmium poisoning were quite similar while nitrogen source absence also induced the expression of genes related to protein and nucleotide degradation. Genes implicated in the consumption of lipid reserves were induced in the absence of both carbon and nitrogen sources. We identified some transcription regulators as well as components of signal transduction pathways that have differential patterns of gene expression caused by these different environmental stresses. Most of the genes that had their expression altered in response to the studied environmental stresses has no known function yet. Their expression patterns towards such stresses are therefore an important contribution to their functional annotation. Since the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei has become a microorganism of biotechnological value for its high capacity of synthesis and secretion of proteins, we expect that the data presented on this work can provide a better understanding of its cellular processes and may support future projects for a better adaptation of this organism to industrial conditions. (AU)