Search

Facultative heterochromatin marked by histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) is an important regulatory layer involved in secondary metabolite (SM) gene silencing and crucial for fungal development in the genus Fusarium. While this histone mark is essential in some (e.g., the rice pathogen Fusarium fujikuroi), it appears dispensable in other fusaria. Here, we show that deletion of FpKMT6 is detrimental but not lethal in the plant pathogen Fusarium proliferatum, a member of the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC). Loss of FpKmt6 results in aberrant growth, and expression of a large set of previously H3K27me3-silenced genes is accompanied by increased H3K27 acetylation (H3K27ac) and an altered H3K36me3 pattern. Next, H3K9me3 patterns are affected in Δfpkmt6, indicating crosstalk between both heterochromatic marks that became even more obvious in a strain deleted for FpKMT1 encoding the H3K9-specific histone methyltransferase. In Δfpkmt1, all H3K9me3 marks present in the wild-type strain are replaced by H3K27me3, a finding that may explain the subtle phenotype of the Δfpkmt1 strain which stands in marked contrast to other filamentous fungi. A large proportion of SM-encoding genes is allocated with H3K27me3 in the wild-type strain and loss of H3K27me3 results in elevated expression of 49% of them. Interestingly, genes involved in the biosynthesis of the phytohormones gibberellins (GA) are among the most upregulated genes in Δfpkmt6. Although several FFSC members harbor GA biosynthetic genes, its production is largely restricted to F. fujikuroi, possibly outlining the distinct lifestyles of these notorious plant pathogens. We show that H3K27me3 is involved in GA gene silencing in F. proliferatum and at least one additional FFSC member, and thus, may serve as a regulatory layer for gene silencing under non-favoring conditions. Author summary: H3K27me3 is a hallmark of facultative heterochromatin, and as such tightly connected with gene silencing. In the genus Fusarium, a large proportion of the genome is allocated with this histone mark. Not surprisingly its removal is detrimental and even lethal for some fusaria e.g., the plant pathogen Fusarium fujikuroi for still unknown reasons. Here, we show that Kmt6 is vital but not essential in the closely related Fusarium proliferatum, allowing for the first time a comprehensive analysis of Kmt6 loss-of-function in a member of the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC). By an "omics"-oriented approach, we show the genome-wide distribution of activating and silencing histone marks in the wild-type as well as a Δfpkmt6 strain, mapped on a newly annotated genome assembled to near chromosome level. Loss of H3K27me3 and H3K9me3 involved in facultative- and constitutive heterochromatin, respectively, revealed a crucial crosstalk between both histone marks in this genus. These results may explain the subtle phenotype of KMT1 deletion exhibited in this but also in other fusaria, which stands in marked contrast to other fungal species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs) have gained increased interest as a promising solution to store energy from sustainable energy sources. Inspired by naturally occurring bio‐quinones, we here propose a new electrolyte based on the fungal compound phoenicin. Phoenicin was produced using the filamentous fungus Penicillium atrosanguineum at a concentration of 1.24 g L−1 liquid medium and extracted using ethyl acetate to a purity exceeding 95 %. The fungus may provide a benefit of high scalability of the biosynthesis‐based production of the electroactive substance. Here, we demonstrate the performance of biologically produced phoenicin as a negative electrolyte in an RFB against ferro/ferricyanide, as a proof of concept, giving an initial capacity of 11.75 Ah L−1 and a capacity decay of 2.85 % day−1. For a deeper investigation of the battery setup, in situ attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR‐IR) spectra of the phoenicin electrolyte were recorded. Symmetric cell cycling was performed to study the stability of this bio‐based active material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phylogenetic relationship of the Arthrinium genus has changed throughout the years. For many years, the Arthrinium genus included the Apiospora genus as well. New evidence has now showed that these two genera in fact are phylogenetically different and belong to two different clades. Here, we present the first genome draft within the Arthrinium genus. This genome was sequenced using the MinION platform from Oxford Nanopore Technologies and the assembly was contiguous. The assembly comprises ten contigs totaling 39.8 Mb with an N50 length of 7.9. In the assembly, 11,602 genes were predicted whereof 10,784 were functionally annotated. A total of 37 rRNA genes were observed in the assembly and repeat elements spanning 7.39% of the genome were found. A total of 99 secondary metabolite gene clusters were predicted, showing a high potential of novel secondary metabolites. This genome sequence will not only be useful for further investigation of the Arthrinium clade, but also for discovery of novel secondary metabolite compounds that could be of high interest for the food, agricultural, or pharmaceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous redox flow batteries, energy storage, filamentous fungi, natural products, quinones Keywords: aqueous redox flow batteries; energy storage; filamentous fungi; natural products; quinones EN aqueous redox flow batteries energy storage filamentous fungi natural products quinones 1 1 1 01/11/23 20230101 NES 230101 B The Cover Feature b illustrates a redox flow battery based on the fungal pigment phoenicin, which was produced and extracted from I Penicillium atrosanguineum i . [Extracted from the article]

Through stepwise recreation of the biosynthetic gene cluster containing PKS3 from Fusarium solani, it was possible to produce the core scaffold compound of bostrycoidin, a red aza-anthraquinone pigment in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This was achieved through sequential transformation associated recombination (TAR) cloning of FvPPT, fsr1, fsr2, and fsr3 into the pESC-vector system, utilizing the inducible bidirectional galactose promoter for heterologous expression in S. cerevisiae. The production of the core metabolite bostrycoidin was investigated through triplicate growth cultures for 1–4 days, where the maximum titer of bostrycoidin was achieved after 2 days of induction, yielding 2.2 mg/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last two decades, whole-genome sequencing has revolutionized genetic research in all kingdoms, including fungi. More than 1000 fungal genomes have been submitted to sequence databases, mostly obtained through second generation short-read DNA sequencing. As a result, highly fragmented genome drafts have typically been obtained. However, with the emergence of third generation long-read DNA sequencing, the assembly challenge can be overcome and highly contiguous assemblies obtained. Such attractive results, however, are extremely dependent on the ability to extract highly purified high molecular weight (HMW) DNA. Extraction of such DNA is currently a significant challenge for all species with cell walls, not least fungi. In this study, four isolates of filamentous ascomycetes ( Apiospora pterospermum , Aspergillus sp . (subgen. Cremei ), Aspergillus westerdijkiae , and Penicillium aurantiogriseum ) were used to develop extraction and purification methods that result in HMW DNA suitable for third generation sequencing. We have tested and propose two straightforward extraction methods based on treatment with either a commercial kit or traditional phenol-chloroform extraction both in combination with a single commercial purification method that result in high quality HMW DNA from filamentous ascomycetes. Our results demonstrated that using these DNA extraction methods and coverage, above 75 x of our haploid filamentous ascomycete fungal genomes result in complete and contiguous assemblies.

The phylogenetic relationship of the Arthrinium genus has changed throughout the years. For many years, the Arthrinium genus included the Apiospora genus as well. New evidence has now showed that these two genera in fact are phylogenetically different and belong to two different clades. Here, we present the first genome draft within the Arthrinium genus. This genome was sequenced using the MinION platform from Oxford Nanopore Technologies and the assembly was contiguous. The assembly comprises ten contigs totaling 39.8 Mb with an N50 length of 7.9. In the assembly, 11,602 genes were predicted whereof 10,784 were functionally annotated. A total of 37 rRNA genes were observed in the assembly and repeat elements spanning 7.39% of the genome were found. A total of 99 secondary metabolite gene clusters were predicted, showing a high potential of novel secondary metabolites. This genome sequence will not only be useful for further investigation of the Arthrinium clade, but also for discovery of novel secondary metabolite compounds that could be of high interest for the food, agricultural, or pharmaceutical industry., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)