Enhanced Production of Trichoderma reesei Endoglucanases and Use of the New Cellulase Preparations in Producing the Stonewashed Effect on Denim Fabric

Trichoderma reesei strains were constructed for production of elevated amounts of endoglucanase II (EGII) with or without cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI). The endoglucanase activity produced by the EGII transformants correlated with the copy number of the egl2 expression cassette. One copy of the egl2 expression cassette in which the egl2 was under the cbh1 promoter increased production of endoglucanase activity 2.3-fold, and two copies increased production about 3-fold above that of the parent strain. When the enzyme with elevated EGII content was used, an improved stonewashing effect on denim fabric was achieved. A T. reesei strain producing high amounts of EGI and -II activities without CBHI and -II was constructed by replacing the cbh2 locus with the coding region of the egl2 gene in the EGI-overproducing CBHI-negative strain. Production of endoglucanase activity by the EG-transformant strain was increased fourfold above that of the host strain. The filter paper-degrading activity of the endoglucanase-overproducing strain was lowered to below detection, presumably because of the lack of cellobiohydrolases.     

Enhanced production of cellobiohydrolases in Trichoderma reesei and evaluation of the new preparations in biofinishing of cotton

In the search for suitable cellulase combinations for industrial biofinishing of cotton, five different types of Trichoderma reesei strains were constructed for elevated cellobiohydrolase production: CBHI overproducers with and without endoglucanase I (EGI), CBHII overproducers with and without endoglucanase II (EGII) and strains overproducing both CBHI and CBHII without the major endoglucanases I and II. One additional copy of cbh1 gene increased production of CBHI protein 1.3-fold, and two copies 1.5-fold according to ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). The level of total secreted proteins was increased in CBHI transformants as compared to the host strain. One copy of the cbh2 expression cassette in which the cbh2 was expressed from the cbh1 promoter increased production of CBHII protein three- to four-fold when compared to the host strain. T. reesei strains producing elevated amounts of both CBHI and CBHII without EGI and EGII were constructed by replacing the egl1 locus with the coding region of the cbh1 gene and the egl2 locus with the coding region of cbh2. The cbh1 was expressed from its own promoter and the cbh2 gene using either the cbh1 or cbh2 promoter. Production of CBHI by the CBH-transformants was increased up to 1.6-fold and production of CBHII up to 3.4-fold as compared with the host strain. Approximately similar amounts of CBHII protein were produced by using cbh1 or cbh2 promoters. When the enzyme preparation with elevated CBHII content was used in biofinishing of cotton, better depilling and visual appearance were achieved than with the wild type preparation; however, the improvement was not as pronounced as with preparations with elevated levels of endoglucanases (EG).     

High frequency one-step gene replacement in Trichoderma reesei. I. Endoglucanase I overproduction

The chromosomal cellobiohydrolase 1 locus (cbh1) of the biotechnologically important filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei was replaced in a single-step procedure by an expression cassette containing an endoglucanase I cDNA (egl1) under control of the cbh1 promoter. CBHI protein was missing from 37–63% of the transformants, showing that targeting of the linear expression cassette to the cbh1 locus was efficient. Studies of expression of the intact cbh1-egl1 cassette at the cbh1 locus revealed that egl1 cDNA is expressed from the cbh1 promoter as efficiently as cbh1 itself. Furthermore, a strain carrying two copies of the cbh1-egl1 expression cassette produced twice as much EG I as the amount of CBHI, the major cellulase protein, produced by the host strain. The level of egl1-specific mRNA in the single-copy transformant was about 10-fold higher than that found in the non transformed host strain, indicating that the cbh1 promoter is about 10 times stronger than the egl1 promoter. The 10-fold increase in the secreted EG I protein, measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), correlated well with the increase in egl1-specific mRNA.     

High frequency one-step gene replacement in Trichoderma reesei. I. Endoglucanase I overproduction

The chromosomal cellobiohydrolase 1 locus (cbh1) of the biotechnologically important filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei was replaced in a single-step procedure by an expression cassette containing an endoglucanase I cDNA (egl1) under control of the cbh1 promoter. CBHI protein was missing from 37–63% of the transformants, showing that targeting of the linear expression cassette to the cbh1 locus was efficient. Studies of expression of the intact cbh1-egl1 cassette at the cbh1 locus revealed that egl1 cDNA is expressed from the cbh1 promoter as efficiently as cbh1 itself. Furthermore, a strain carrying two copies of the cbh1-egl1 expression cassette produced twice as much EG I as the amount of CBHI, the major cellulase protein, produced by the host strain. The level of egl1-specific mRNA in the single-copy transformant was about 10-fold higher than that found in the non transformed host strain, indicating that the cbh1 promoter is about 10 times stronger than the egl1 promoter. The 10-fold increase in the secreted EG I protein, measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), correlated well with the increase in egl1-specific mRNA.     

High frequency one-step gene replacement in Trichoderma reesei. II. Effects of deletions of individual cellulase genes

Four cellulase genes of Trichoderma reesei, cbh1, cbh2, egl1 and egl2, have been replaced by the amdS marker gene. When linear DNA fragments and flanking regions of the corresponding cellulase locus of more than 1 kb were used, the replacement frequencies were high, ranging from 32 to 52%. Deletion of the major cellobiohydrolase 1 gene led to a 2-fold increase in the production of cellobiohydrolase II; however, replacement of the cbh2 gene did not affect the final cellulase levels and deletion of egl1 or egl2, slightly increased production of both cellobiohydrolases. Based on our results, endoglucanase II accounts for most of the endoglucanase activity produced by the hypercellulolytic host strain. Furthermore, loss of the egl2, gene causes a significant drop in the filter paper-hydrolysing activity, indicating that endoglucanase II has an important role in the total hydrolysis of cellulose.     

High frequency one-step gene replacement in Trichoderma reesei. II. Effects of deletions of individual cellulase genes

Four cellulase genes of Trichoderma reesei, cbh1, cbh2, egl1 and egl2, have been replaced by the amdS marker gene. When linear DNA fragments and flanking regions of the corresponding cellulase locus of more than 1 kb were used, the replacement frequencies were high, ranging from 32 to 52%. Deletion of the major cellobiohydrolase 1 gene led to a 2-fold increase in the production of cellobiohydrolase II; however, replacement of the cbh2 gene did not affect the final cellulase levels and deletion of egl1 or egl2, slightly increased production of both cellobiohydrolases. Based on our results, endoglucanase II accounts for most of the endoglucanase activity produced by the hypercellulolytic host strain. Furthermore, loss of the egl2, gene causes a significant drop in the filter paper-hydrolysing activity, indicating that endoglucanase II has an important role in the total hydrolysis of cellulose.     

Novel cellulase profile of Trichoderma reesei strains constructed by cbh1 gene replacement with eg3 gene expression cassette

To construct strains of the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei with low cellobiohydrolases while high endoglucanase activity, the Pcbh1-eg3-Tcbh1 cassette was constructed and the coding sequence of the cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI) gene was replaced with the coding sequence of the eg3 gene by homologous recombination. Disruption of the cbhl gene was confirmed by PCR, Southern dot blot and Western hybridization analysis in two transforments denoted as L 13 and L29. The filter paper-hydrolyzing activity of strain L29 was 60% of the parent strain Rut C30, and the CMCase activity was increased by 33%. This relatively modest increase suggested that the eg3 cDNA under the control of the cbhl promoter was not efficiently transcribed as the wild type cbhl gene. However our results confirmed that homologous recombination could be used to construct strains of the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei with novel cellulase profile. Such strains are of interest from the basic science perspective and also have potential industrial applications.     

Improvement of cellulose-degrading ability of a yeast strain displaying Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase II by recombination of cellulose-binding domains

To improve the cellulolytic activity of a yeast strain displaying endoglucanase II (EGII) from the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei QM9414, the genes encoding the cellulose-binding domain (CBD) of EGII, cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI) and cellobiohydrolase II (CBHII) from T. reesei QM9414, were fused with the catalytic domain of EGII and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Display of each of the recombinant EGIIs was confirmed using immunofluorescence microscopy. In the case of EGII-displaying yeast strains in which the CBD of EGII was replaced with the CBD of CBHI or CBHII, the binding affinity to Avicel and hydrolytic activity toward phosphoric acid swollen Avicel were similar to that of a yeast strain displaying wild-type EGII. On the other hand, the three yeast strains displaying EGII with two or three tandemly aligned CBDs showed binding affinity and hydrolytic activity higher than that of the yeast strain displaying wild-type EGII. This result indicates that the hydrolytic activity of yeast strains displaying recombinant EGII increases with increased binding ability to cellulose.     

Novel Cellulase Profile of Trichoderma reesei Strains Constructed by cbh1 Gene Replacement with eg3 Gene Expression Cassette

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is consi-dered to be the most efficient cellulase producer, and hasa long history in the production of hydrolytic enzymes,which was widely used in the food and feed industriesand recently also used in the textile,…     

Genetic engineering of Trichoderma to produce strains with novel cellulase profiles.

Genetic engineering has been used to modify the proportion of different cellulases produced by a hypercellulolytic Trichoderma reesei mutant strain. A general expression vector, pAMH110, containing the promoter and terminator sequences of the strongly expressed main cellobiohydrolase 1 (cbh1) gene was used to overexpress a cDNA coding for EGI, the major endoglucanase (1,4,beta-D-glucan glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.4). An in vitro modified cbh1 cDNA, incapable of coding for active enzyme, was used to inactivate the major cellobiohydrolase (1,4-beta-D-glucan cellobiohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.91) gene. In this way, new strains producing elevated amounts of the specific endoglucanase 1 (EGI) and/or lacking the major cellobiohydrolase (CBHI) were produced, and these have been further characterized.     

Effect of codon optimization on the expression of Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase 1 in Pichia pastoris

Trichoderma reesei cellulases are important biocatalysts for a wide range of industrial applications that include the paper, feed, and textile industries. T. reesei endoglucanase 1 (egl1) was successfully expressed as an active and stable catalyst in Pichia pastoris for the first time. Codon optimization was applied to egl1 of T. reesei to enhance its expression levels in P. pastoris. When compared with the originally cloned egl1 gene of T. reesei, the synthetic codon optimized egl1 gene (egl1s) was expressed at a higher level in P. pastoris. Batch fermentations of both clones with the same copy number under controlled conditions indicated that codon optimized EGI enzyme activity increased to 1.24 fold after 72 h of methanol induction. Our research indicated that P. pastoris is a suitable host for cellulase production.     

里氏木霉双基因同步缺失菌株的构建与甘露聚糖酶表达研究

在里氏木霉中建立了一个快速的双基因位点同步同源重组新方法,较好解决了里氏木霉基因逐个敲除周期长等问题。研究以里氏木霉自身甘露聚糖酶基因（man5A）为重组表达的报告基因,通过一步转化,将该基因定点整合入纤维二糖水解酶Ⅰ（cbh1）基因位点,同时缺失主要的两个纤维素酶基因（cbh1、cbh2）,得到重组工程菌Man12。将重组工程菌Man12与出发菌株Tu6Δku70进行摇瓶发酵,结果显示,重组菌株的甘露聚糖酶产量比出发菌株提高10倍,而纤维素酶产量降低了60%,胞外总蛋白分泌水平降低了40%。Real-time PCR检测甘露聚糖酶基因（man5A）的转录水平,发现重组菌株较出发菌株提高了25倍。在里氏木霉中首次报道了通过一步转化实现两个基因同步定点整合的方法,对利用基因工程手段构建高效表达重组蛋白的里氏木霉工程菌株具有一定的指导意义。     

Reversibility and competition in the adsorption of Trichoderma reesei cellulase components

Adsorption reversibility and competition between fractionated components of the Trichoderma reesei cellulase system were studied. Specific endoglucanase (EGI), nonspecific endoglucanases (EGII, EGIII), and cellobio-hydrolase (CBHI) were previously grouped according to their hydrolytic function. At 5 degrees C, direct evidence of exchange between adsorbed and free enzyme was obtained for each component using [(3)H] and [(14)C] radiolabeled tracers. No release of bound enzymes was detected upon dilution of the free enzyme solution. In simultaneous adsorption of enzyme pairs, CBHI was shown to predominate adsorption. Endoglucanase EGI was preferentially adsorbed over EGII and EGIII. Sequential adsorption studies have shown that interaction between enzyme components largely determines the degree of their adsorption. Evidence suggests that both common and distinct adsorption sites exist and that their occupation depends on which components are involved. Predominance in adsorption by any one of the enzyme components is decreased at 50 degrees C. Light microscopy and monitoring of sugar production during cellulose hydrolysis provided evidence that reduction in the ionic strength decreases the adsorption predominance of CBHI and enhances the synergism between the cellulase components.     

敲除里氏木霉hkmt基因可增强纤维素酶的酶活性和表达水平

表观遗传是不涉及DNA序列变化的可遗传变化,包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和miRNA调控等。在组蛋白甲基化修饰中,主要是组蛋白赖氨酸甲基转移酶（histone lysine methyltransferase,HKMT）参与调控。有文献报道,HKMT蛋白的催化核心为SET结构域,它具有促进或抑制基因表达的作用。在里氏木霉(Trichoderma reesei)中,HKMT对纤维素酶基因的表达调控的机制尚不明确。本文阐述了以里氏木霉为研究对象,利用Split-Maker技术构建了组蛋白赖氨酸甲基转移酶基因敲除表达盒,并转化了里氏木霉T. reesei QM9414。经PCR及Southern印迹验证正确后,显微镜观察到T.reesei Δhkmt菌株菌丝较长,分支较多。检测到突变体菌株连续7d滤纸酶活（filter paper enzyme activity,AFP）和羧甲基纤维素钠酶活 (carboxymethyl cellulose sodium enzyme activity,CMCA)。结果分别比野生型菌株高出5.00 IU·mL^-1、15.00 IU·mL^-1。利用RT-qPCR检测到突变菌株纤维素酶及其相关基因cbh1、egl1和xyr1的表达分别高出野生型4.51、3.87和2.51倍。通过对野生型菌株和突变菌株形态特征、纤维素酶酶活性、纤维素酶相关基因表达量的探索,为进一步研究里氏木霉表观遗传调控对纤维素酶表达的影响提供了新思路和实验资料。     

敲除里氏木霉hkmt基因可增强纤维素酶的酶活性和表达水平

表观遗传是不涉及DNA序列变化的可遗传变化,包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和miRNA调控等。在组蛋白甲基化修饰中,主要是组蛋白赖氨酸甲基转移酶（histone lysine methyltransferase,HKMT）参与调控。有文献报道,HKMT蛋白的催化核心为SET结构域,它具有促进或抑制基因表达的作用。在里氏木霉(Trichoderma reesei)中,HKMT对纤维素酶基因的表达调控的机制尚不明确。本文阐述了以里氏木霉为研究对象,利用Split-Maker技术构建了组蛋白赖氨酸甲基转移酶基因敲除表达盒,并转化了里氏木霉T. reesei QM9414。经PCR及Southern印迹验证正确后,显微镜观察到T.reesei Δhkmt菌株菌丝较长,分支较多。检测到突变体菌株连续7d滤纸酶活（filter paper enzyme activity,AFP）和羧甲基纤维素钠酶活 (carboxymethyl cellulose sodium enzyme activity,CMCA)。结果分别比野生型菌株高出5.00 IU·mL^-1、15.00 IU·mL^-1。利用RT-qPCR检测到突变菌株纤维素酶及其相关基因cbh1、egl1和xyr1的表达分别高出野生型4.51、3.87和2.51倍。通过对野生型菌株和突变菌株形态特征、纤维素酶酶活性、纤维素酶相关基因表达量的探索,为进一步研究里氏木霉表观遗传调控对纤维素酶表达的影响提供了新思路和实验资料。     

Direct and efficient production of ethanol from cellulosic material with a yeast strain displaying cellulolytic enzymes

For direct and efficient ethanol production from cellulosic materials, we constructed a novel cellulose-degrading yeast strain by genetically codisplaying two cellulolytic enzymes on the cell surface of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. By using a cell surface engineering system based on alpha-agglutinin, endoglucanase II (EGII) from the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei QM9414 was displayed on the cell surface as a fusion protein containing an RGSHis6 (Arg-Gly-Ser-His(6)) peptide tag in the N-terminal region. EGII activity was detected in the cell pellet fraction but not in the culture supernatant. Localization of the RGSHis6-EGII-alpha-agglutinin fusion protein on the cell surface was confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy. The yeast strain displaying EGII showed significantly elevated hydrolytic activity toward barley beta-glucan, a linear polysaccharide composed of an average of 1,200 glucose residues. In a further step, EGII and beta-glucosidase 1 from Aspergillus aculeatus No. F-50 were codisplayed on the cell surface. The resulting yeast cells could grow in synthetic medium containing beta-glucan as the sole carbon source and could directly ferment 45 g of beta-glucan per liter to produce 16.5 g of ethanol per liter within about 50 h. The yield in terms of grams of ethanol produced per gram of carbohydrate utilized was 0.48 g/g, which corresponds to 93.3% of the theoretical yield. This result indicates that efficient simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of cellulose to ethanol are carried out by a recombinant yeast cells displaying cellulolytic enzymes.     

鸡尾酒δ整合策略构建表达三类纤维素酶的酿酒酵母工程菌株及初步评价

木质纤维素乙醇具有替代化石燃料的潜力,其生产过程包括生物质预处理、纤维素酶生产、水解和发酵等多个步骤。将纤维素酶生产、水解和发酵组合在一起的统合生物加工过程（consolidated bioprocessing,CBP）由于能降低水解和发酵成本而具有应用于纤维素乙醇生产的潜力,该技术的关键是构建能有效降解纤维素的工程菌株,而构建表达纤维素酶的酿酒酵母即是其中一种选择。采用鸡尾酒多拷贝δ整合的策略将7种纤维素酶基因（Trichoderma reesei cbh1、cbh2和egl2,Aspergillus aculeatus cbh1、egl1和bgl1）表达盒整合至酿酒酵母W303-1A染色体上,经4轮整合筛选得到菌株LA1、LA2、LA3和LA4。对这4个菌株进行纤维素酶活性测定,结果表明从LA1到LA3各种纤维素酶活性呈递增趋势,而LA4的酶活性与LA3的酶活水平相当。对菌株LA3进行酸碱预处理玉米芯料的发酵评价,结果表明：①在外加商品化纤维素酶的情况下,与对照菌株W303-1A和AADY相比,LA3能有效利用纤维素料发酵产醇;②与分步整合的菌株W3相比,发酵性能更优;③培养基中的营养成分影响菌株发酵性能。这些结果表明,鸡尾酒δ整合是一种有效的构建酿酒酵母CBP菌株的方法。     

Cloning of the egl gene of Pseudomonas solanacearum and analysis of its role in phytopathogenicity.

The egl gene of Pseudomonas solanacearum was cloned on a cosmid and expressed in Escherichia coli. Restriction endonuclease mapping, transposon mutagenesis, and subclone analysis showed that the egl gene was located on a 2.7-kilobase XhoI-SalI P. solanacearum DNA fragment. Immunoabsorption experiments and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis showed that the egl gene encodes the 43-kilodalton endoglucanase that is the major excreted endoglucanase of P. solanacearum. In E. coli, the egl gene appeared to be expressed from its own promoter, but its product was restricted to the cytoplasm. The cloned egl gene was mutagenized with Tn5 and used to specifically mutate the chromosomal egl gene of P. solanacearum by site-directed mutagenesis. The resultant mutant was identical to the wild-type strain in production of extracellular polysaccharide and extracellular polygalacturonase as well as several other excreted proteins but produced at least 200-fold less endoglucanase. This mutant strain was significantly less virulent on tomato than the wild-type strain in plant bioassay experiments. Virulence of the endoglucanase-deficient strain was restored to near wild-type levels by complementation in trans with the cloned egl gene, indicating that the egl gene is important but not absolutely required for pathogenesis.     

Improved heterologous gene expression in Trichoderma reesei by cellobiohydrolase I gene （cbh1） promoter optimization

To improve heterologous gene expression in Trichoderma reesei, a set of optimal artificial cellobiohydrolase I gene （cbhl） promoters was obtained. The region from -677 to -724 with three potential glucose repressor binding sites was deleted. Then the region from -620 to -820 of the modified cbhl promoter, including the CCAAT box and the Ace2 binding site, was repeatedly inserted into the modified cbhl promoter, obtaining promoters with copy numbers 2, 4, and 6. The results showed that the glucose repression effects were abolished and the expression level of the glucuronidase （gus） reporter gene regulated by these multi-copy promoters was markedly enhanced as the copy number increased simultaneously. The data showed the great promise of using the promoter artificial modification strategy to increase heterologous gene expression in filamentous fungi and provided a set of optional high-expression vectors for gene function investigation and strain modification.