José A. Pérez-González

The wide-domain carbon catabolite repressor CreA indirectly controls expression of the Aspergillus nidulans xlnB gene, encoding the acidic endo-beta-(1,4)-xylanase X(24).

The Aspergillus nidulans xlnB gene, which encodes the acidic endo-beta-(1,4)-xylanase X(24), is expressed when xylose is present as the sole carbon source and repressed in the presence of glucose. That the mutation creA(d)30 results in considerably elevated levels of xlnB mRNA indicates a role for the wide-domain repressor CreA in the repression of xlnB promoter (xlnBp) activity. Functional analyses of xlnBp::goxC reporter constructs show that none of the four CreA consensus target sites identified in xlnBp are functional in vivo. The CreA repressor is thus likely to exert carbon catabolite repression via an indirect mechanism rather than to influence xlnB expression by acting directly on xlnB.

Construction of an Aspergillus nidulans multicopy transformant for the xlnB gene and its use in purifying the minor X24 xylanase

Abstract Using recombinant DNA techniques, an Aspergillus nidulans multicopy transformant for the gene xlnB coding for the minor X24 xylanase has been constructed. When grown on glucose as sole carbon source this transformant secretes 114 U of xylanase (mg protein)-1. In this culture condition, X24 is the only xylanase secreted and the predominant protein in the culture filtrate. This strategy has been used to purify the X24 enzyme to homogeneity. The purified xylanase showed a single band on sodium dodecyl sulphate/ polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a molecular mass of 24 kDa and had an isoelectric point of approximately 3.5. The enzyme was a non-debranching endo-1,4-β-xylan xylanohydrolase highly specific for xylans and showed optimal activity at pH 5.5 and 52°C. The X24 xylanase had a Michaelis constant, Km, of 12.43 mg oat spelt xylan ml-1 and a Vmax of 1639 μmol min-1 (mg protein)-1.

Development of a transformation system forTrichoderma longibrachiatum and its use for constructing multicopy transformants for theegl1 gene

An efficient transformation system for the fungusTrichoderma longibrachiatum has been developed. Transformation was obtained both by electroporation and polyethyleneglycol treatment, using a plasmid carrying theEscherichia coli hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene as a dominant selectable marker. The transformation frequency was 0.5 to 5 transformants /μg plasmid DNA. Transformation normally occurred by tandem integration of the transforming DNA. A high percentage of the transformants were mitotically unstable. The efficiency of co-transformation was very high (around 90%), and several co-transformants containing multiple copies of theegll gene encoding a β-(1,4)-endoglucanase were obtained. Some of them secrete increased levels of endoglucanase to the culture medium. In addition, theE. coli lacZ gene was expressed in an active form under control of theAspergillus nidulans gpdA gene promoter.