Search

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is globally dispersed and contamination of soil with this biocide adversely affects its functional biodiversity, particularly of fungi - key colonizers. Their functional role as a community is poorly understood, although a few pathways have been already elucidated in pure cultures. This constitutes here our main challenge - elucidate how fungi influence the pollutant mitigation processes in forest soils. Circumstantial evidence exists that cork oak forests in N. W. Tunisia - economically critical managed forests are likely to be contaminated with PCP, but the scientific evidence has previously been lacking. Our data illustrate significant forest contamination through the detection of undefined active sources of PCP. By solving the taxonomic diversity and the PCP-derived metabolomes of both the cultivable fungi and the fungal community, we demonstrate here that most strains (predominantly penicillia) participate in the pollutant biotic degradation. They form an array of degradation intermediates and by-products, including several hydroquinone, resorcinol and catechol derivatives, either chlorinated or not. The degradation pathway of the fungal community includes uncharacterized derivatives, e.g. tetrachloroguaiacol isomers. Our study highlights fungi key role in the mineralization and short lifetime of PCP in forest soils and provide novel tools to monitor its degradation in other fungi dominated food webs.

Understanding the mechanisms of toxicity of ionic liquids at the molecular level is crucial for their conscious design as to promote higher acceptability as green solvents in a wide range of applications. In this systematic study, we investigated the effects of three families of ionic liquids on the plasma membrane of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. Using fluorescence microscopy and gene expression analysis, we were able to demonstrate that the widely studied 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium chlorides with long alkyl substituents cause membrane permeabilisation. In opposition, the biocompatibility of cholinium alkanoates was reinforced here, even though their toxicity also increases with the elongation of the anion. Further investigating the effects of charge on membrane permeabilisation, we observed that a series of alkyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)-dimethylammonium bromides led to permeabilisation of the fungal plasma membrane by increasing the length of one alkyl substituent in the cholinium cation. We hypothesise that the chemical nature of the plasma membrane, which presents a heterogeneous charge distribution along its surface, is pivotal for the membrane permeabilising effects of ionic liquids. This study may inspire a new trend in the ionic liquid field: to give preference for the development of compounds carrying functionalised anions as greener alternatives to those carrying functionalized cations.

This study constitutes the first attempt to understand at the proteomic level the fungal response to ionic liquid stress. Ascomycota are able to grow in media supplemented with high concentrations of an ionic liquid, which, in turn, lead to major alterations in the fungal metabolic footprint. Herein, we analysed the differential accumulation of mycelial proteins in Aspergillus nidulans and Neurospora crassa after their exposure to two of the most commonly used ionic liquids: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride or cholinium chloride. Data obtained showed that numerous stress-responsive proteins ( e.g. anti-ROS defence proteins) as well as several critical biological processes and/or pathways were affected by either ionic liquid. Amongst other changes, these compounds altered developmental programmes in both fungi ( e.g. promoting the development of Hulle cells or conidiation) and led to accumulation of osmolytes, some of which may play an important role in multiple stress responses. In particular, in N. crassa , both ionic liquids increased the levels of proteins which are likely involved in the biosynthesis of unusual metabolites. These data potentially open new perspectives on ionic liquid research, furthering their conscious design and their use to trigger production of targeted metabolites. Biological significance The present study emphasises the importance of understanding ionic liquid's stress responses, crucial to further their safe large-scale usage. Knowledge of the alterations prompted at a cellular and biochemical level gives also fresh perspectives on how to employ these “novel” compounds to manipulate proteins or pathways of biotechnological value. The results presented here provide meaningful insights into the understanding of fungi stress and adaptation responses to anthropogenic chemicals used in industry.

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is globally dispersed and contamination of soil with this biocide adversely affects its functional biodiversity, particularly of fungi - key colonizers. Their functional role as a community is poorly understood, although a few pathways have been already elucidated in pure cultures. This constitutes here our main challenge - elucidate how fungi influence the pollutant mitigation processes in forest soils. Circumstantial evidence exists that cork oak forests in N. W. Tunisia - economically critical managed forests are likely to be contaminated with PCP, but the scientific evidence has previously been lacking. Our data illustrate significant forest contamination through the detection of undefined active sources of PCP. By solving the taxonomic diversity and the PCP-derived metabolomes of both the cultivable fungi and the fungal community, we demonstrate here that most strains (predominantly penicillia) participate in the pollutant biotic degradation. They form an array of degradation intermediates and by-products, including several hydroquinone, resorcinol and catechol derivatives, either chlorinated or not. The degradation pathway of the fungal community includes uncharacterized derivatives, e.g. tetrachloroguaiacol isomers. Our study highlights fungi key role in the mineralization and short lifetime of PCP in forest soils and provide novel tools to monitor its degradation in other fungi dominated food webs.

The co-metabolism of sugars by Leuconostoc oenos was studied under different environmental conditions. Under aerobic conditions, growth and sugar metabolism were poorer than under CO2 or N2 atmosphere and acetic acid accumulated to a larger extent. Glycerol was found in the aerobic cultures while erythritol was detected under N2 or CO2. When medium conditions make growth difficult (low pH, aerobic conditions, low nutrients), sugars were only slightly metabolized and growth was very slow while malic acid was rapidly and completely degraded, leading to an increase in the yATP. Aeration effects on the malic acid degradation rate depended on the nutrients and carbon source in the medium. Malic acid clearly stimulated bacterial growth, allowing an increase in the molar growth yields and ATP production. The results suggest that under adverse conditions cells are not able to grow and malic degradation supplies additional energy production.