CD Laboratory for Optimized expression of carbohydrate-active enzymes

Enzymes are required in many branches of industry. These often originate from fungi. However, fungal strains can spontaneously degenerate during production. This CD Laboratory is researching ways to increase the stability and efficiency of industrial strains.

The fungus Trichoderma reesei (T. reesei) is used for the biotechnological production of carbohydrate-active enzymes, such as cellulases and hemicellulases. These are enzymes that can break down components of plant biomass into smaller molecules in nature. In industry, these enzymes are used, for example, in the areas of paper, food and animal feed, textiles and biofuels.

Unfortunately, it can happen that fungal strains suddenly lose their productivity during a production run. Such spontaneous degeneration is not limited to T. reesei, but is a common phenomenon that is extremely detrimental to biotechnological processes. Unfortunately, this degeneration cannot currently be prevented and the underlying mechanisms are unclear.

According to earlier research by this CD Laboratory, stem degeneration is caused by epigenetic processes. For example, the methylation of deoxyribonucleic acid plays a role, which can cause the expression of genes to be switched on or off. Changes in the so-called epigenetic landscape are attributed to the activity of certain proteins. This CD Laboratory now wants to analyse these proteins in more detail and identify their target areas. In this way, targeted measures can be taken to obtain stable production strains.

Certain ribonucleic acids (RNA) are responsible for translating genetic information into proteins. Other non-coding (nc) RNAs are now recognised as key regulatory elements in the cell. Recent work by researchers in this CD Laboratory has shown that one such ncRNA (called HAX1) can activate and enhance the expression of enzymes in T. reesei. Various synthetic versions of HAX1 are now to be researched and specifically expressed in fungal strains. This method should lead to an immediate increase in enzyme production.

To summarise, the aim is not only to prevent production losses due to spontaneous degeneration of the fungal strains, but also to achieve an increase in production efficiency.