Prabuddha Dey

Comparative lipid profiling of two endophytic fungal isolates – Colletotrichum sp. and Alternaria sp. having potential utilities as biodiesel feedstock

Lipid accumulation abilities of two endophytic fungal isolates - Colletotrichum sp. and Alternaria sp. grown under optimum and nutrient-stress conditions were investigated and compared. Significant variations in lipid contents, ranging from 30% to 58% of their dry biomass were found in liquid culture using various carbon sources. Since, >50% of the total lipid was estimated to be neutral lipid for both the fungal species, predicted biodiesel properties were theoretically calculated based upon the determined fatty acid profiles; and the values were found to be comparable to those of commonly used plant oils for biodiesel production. The two endophytes grew successfully on the combined rice straw and wheat bran as substrate that was degraded by their secretory enzymes including cellulase [1.21-2.51 FPU/g dry substrate (gds)] in solid state fermentation and produced substantial amount of lipid (60.32-84.30 mg/gds). Our study highlights the potential utilities of these two novel endophytic fungi as biodiesel feedstock.

Molecular characterization of a novel isolate of Candida tropicalis for enhanced lipid production.

To characterize a new isolate of Candida tropicalis for its enhanced storage lipid accumulation with respect to lipid composition, fatty acid profile and transcriptional regulation of four key genes involved in lipid productivity using different carbon sources.

Transgenically expressed rice germin-like protein1 in tobacco causes hyper-accumulation of H2O2 and reinforcement of the cell wall components

Our recent report documented that the rice germin-like protein1 (OsGLP1), being a cell wall-associated protein involves in disease resistance in rice and possesses superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity as recognized by heterologous expression in tobacco. In the present study, the transgenic tobacco plants were analyzed further to decipher the detailed physiological and biochemical functions of the OsGLP1 and its associated SOD activity. The transgenic tobacco lines expressing SOD-active OsGLP1 showed tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses mitigated by hyper-accumulating H(2)O(2) upon infection by fungal pathogen (Fusarium solani) and treatment to chemical oxidizing agent (ammonium persulfate), respectively. Histological staining revealed enhanced cross-linking of the cell wall components in the stem tissues of the transgenic plants. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of the biopolymer from the stem tissues of the transgenic and untransformed plants revealed differential banding pattern of the spectra corresponding to various functional groups. Our findings demonstrate that the OsGLP1 with its inherent SOD activity is responsible for hyper-accumulation of H(2)O(2) and reinforcement of the cell wall components.

Microbial, saccharifying and antioxidant properties of an Indian rice based fermented beverage.

Haria, a popular rice based ethnic fermented beverage, is consumed as a staple food and refreshing drink by the vast number of Indian tribal people. In this study, the composition of microbial consortia and the occurrence of some important nutraceuticals during haria preparation were investigated. The quantities of moulds and yeasts were highest at 2nd day, and then declined, but, on the contrary, the quantity of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bifidobacterium sp. increased concurrently during the course of fermentation. Accumulation of starch hydrolytic enzymes along with different types of malto-oligosaccharides like maltotetrose (26.18μg/gm), maltotriose (28.16μg/gm), and maltose (26.94μg/gm) were also noted. Furthermore, GC-MS analysis indicated the occurrence of pyranose derivatives in the fermented products. The fermented materials showed higher free radicals scavenging activity (82.54%, 4th day) against DPPH radicals. These studies clearly demonstrated that the microbial interaction during fermentation of rice makes it more nutritious, and most likely more beneficial for health.

The attack of the phytopathogens and the trumpet solo: Identification of a novel plant antifungal peptide with distinct fold and disulfide bond pattern

Phytopathogens cause economic losses in agribusiness. Plant-derived compounds have been proposed to overcome this problem, including the antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). This paper reports the identification of Ps-AFP1, a novel AMP isolated from the Pisum sativum radicle. Ps-AFP1 was purified and evaluated against phytopathogenic fungi, showing clear effectiveness. In silico analyses were performed, suggesting an unusual fold and disulfide bond pattern. A novel fold and a novel AMP class were here proposed, the αβ-trumpet fold and αβ-trumpet peptides, respectively. The name αβ-trumpet was created due to the peptides fold, which resembles the musical instrument. The Ps-AFP1 mechanism of action was also proposed. Microscopic analyses revealed that Ps-AFP1 could affect the fungus during the hyphal elongation from spore germination. Furthermore, confocal microscopy performed with Ps-AFP1 labeled with FITC shows that the peptide was localized at high concentration along the fungal cell surface. Due to low cellular disruption rates, it seems that the main target is the fungal cell wall. The binding thermogram and isothermal titration, molecular dynamics and docking analyses were also performed, showing that Ps-AFP1 could bind to chitin producing a stable complex. Data here reported provided novel structural-functional insights into the αβ-trumpet peptide fold.

Functional Characterization of Two Structurally Novel Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase2 Isozymes Responsible for the Enhanced Production of Stearate-Rich Storage Lipid in Candida tropicalis SY005

Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) activity is an essential enzymatic step in the formation of neutral lipid i.e., triacylglycerol in all living cells capable of accumulating storage lipid. Previously, we characterized an oleaginous yeast Candida tropicalis SY005 that yields storage lipid up to 58% under a specific nitrogen-stress condition, when the DGAT-specific transcript is drastically up-regulated. Here we report the identification, differential expression and function of two DGAT2 gene homologues- CtDGAT2a and CtDGAT2b of this C. tropicalis. Two protein isoforms are unique with respect to the presence of five additional stretches of amino acids, besides possessing three highly conserved motifs known in other reported DGAT2 enzymes. Moreover, the CtDGAT2a and CtDGAT2b are characteristically different in amino acid sequences and predicted protein structures. The CtDGAT2b isozyme was found to be catalytically 12.5% more efficient than CtDGAT2a for triacylglycerol production in a heterologous yeast system i.e., Saccharomyces cerevisiae quadruple mutant strain H1246 that is inherently defective in neutral lipid biosynthesis. The CtDGAT2b activity rescued the growth of transformed S. cerevisiae mutant cells, which are usually non-viable in the medium containing free fatty acids by incorporating them into triacylglycerol, and displayed preferential specificity towards saturated acyl species as substrate. Furthermore, we document that the efficiency of triacylglycerol production by CtDGAT2b is differentially affected by deletion, insertion or replacement of amino acids in five regions exclusively present in two CtDGAT2 isozymes. Taken together, our study characterizes two structurally novel DGAT2 isozymes, which are accountable for the enhanced production of storage lipid enriched with saturated fatty acids inherently in C. tropicalis SY005 strain as well as in transformed S. cerevisiae neutral lipid-deficient mutant cells. These two genes certainly will be useful for further investigation on the novel structure-function relationship of DGAT repertoire, and also in metabolic engineering for the enhanced production of lipid feedstock in other organisms.

Enhancement of Lipid Productivity in Oleaginous Colletotrichum Fungus through Genetic Transformation Using the Yeast CtDGAT2b Gene under Model-Optimized Growth Condition

Oleaginous fungi are of special interest among microorganisms for the production of lipid feedstocks as they can be cultured on a variety of substrates, particularly waste lingocellulosic materials, and few fungal strains are reported to accumulate inherently higher neutral lipid than bacteria or microalgae. Previously, we have characterized an endophytic filamentous fungus Colletotrichum sp. DM06 that can produce total lipid ranging from 34% to 49% of its dry cell weight (DCW) upon growing with various carbon sources and nutrient-stress conditions. In the present study, we report on the genetic transformation of this fungal strain with the CtDGAT2b gene, which encodes for a catalytically efficient isozyme of type-2 diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) from oleaginous yeast Candida troplicalis SY005. Besides the increase in size of lipid bodies, total lipid titer by the transformed Colletotrichum (lipid content ∼73% DCW) was found to be ∼1.7-fold more than the wild type (lipid content ∼38% DCW) due to functional activity of the CtDGAT2b transgene when grown under standard condition of growth without imposition of any nutrient-stress. Analysis of lipid fractionation revealed that the neutral lipid titer in transformants increased up to 1.8-, 1.6- and 1.5-fold compared to the wild type when grown under standard, nitrogen stress and phosphorus stress conditions, respectively. Lipid titer of transformed cells was further increased to 1.7-fold following model-based optimization of culture conditions. Taken together, ∼2.9-fold higher lipid titer was achieved in Colletotrichum fungus due to overexpression of a rate-limiting crucial enzyme of lipid biosynthesis coupled with prediction-based bioprocess optimization.

Identification of an Extracellular Antifungal Protein from the Endophytic Fungus Colletotrichum sp. DM06

An extracellular antifungal protein of 28 kDa (exAFP-C28) was identified from an endophytic fungus Colletotrichum sp. DM-06. After purification, the MIC value of exAFP-C28 against Candida albicans, a well-known human pathogenic fungus was found to be 32 μg/mL that unaffected the human red blood cells. The antifungal activity associated with exAFP-C28 was manifested by the increased membrane permeability of C. albicans cells followed by disruption. Proteomics and bioinformatics analyses revealed that several peptide fragments of exAFP-C28 have identity with the bacterial 50S ribosomal protein L10, and a stretch of 55 amino acids of two peptide fragments corresponding to the Nterminus of L10 protein is capable of forming amphipathic helix required for membrane penetration. Taken together, our results suggest that the exAFP-C28 protein from Colletotrichum sp. DM-06 is a promising therapeutic agent in controlling candidiasis disease in animals including humans.

A repressor activator protein1 homologue from an oleaginous strain of Candida tropicalis increases storage lipid production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The repressor activator protein1 (Rap1) has been studied over the years as a multifunctional regulator in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, its role in storage lipid accumulation has not been investigated. This report documents the identification and isolation of a putative transcription factor CtRap1 gene from an oleaginous strain of Candida tropicalis, and establishes the direct effect of its expression on the storage lipid accumulation in S. cerevisiae, usually a non-oleaginous yeast. In silico analysis revealed that the CtRap1 polypeptide binds relatively more strongly to the promoter of fatty acid synthase1 (FAS1) gene of S. cerevisiae than ScRap1. The expression level of CtRap1 transcript in vivo was found to correlate directly with the amount of lipid produced in oleaginous native host C. tropicalis. Heterologous expression of the CtRap1 gene resulted in ∼ 4-fold enhancement of storage lipid content (57.3%) in S. cerevisiae. We also showed that the functionally active CtRap1 upregulates the endogenous ScFAS1 and ScDGAT genes of S. cerevisiae, and this, in turn, might be responsible for the increased lipid production in the transformed yeast. Our findings pave the way for the possible utility of the CtRap1 gene in suitable microorganisms to increase their storage lipid content through transcription factor engineering.