Expressão gênica e atividades de celulases, ß-glicosidases, xilanases e swoleninas de Penicillium echinulatum S1M29

Abstract

The strain S1M29 of Penicillium echinulatum is a filamentous fungus that presents a cellulolytic system with potential for application in the degradation process of lignocellulosic materials to obtain products of biotechnological interest, such as second-generation ethanol. The availability of lignocellulosic biomass associated with the search for alternatives to fossil fuels increases the interest in studies that involve understanding the secretion mechanisms of lignocellulolytic enzymes. In this study, P. echinulatum S1M29 was grown under inducing conditions for the production of endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases, β-glucosidases, xylanases and swollenins. The enzyme secretion profiles were evaluated in polyacrylamide gels and the pattern of gene expression for these proteins was also assessed. It was observed that enzyme production was enhanced in the presence of cellulose Celufloc E® and sugar cane bagasse (SCB) in the culture medium compared to glucose, with the use of biomass residue providing the best yields. A similar result was obtained analyzing enzyme secretion profiles in polyacrylamide gels, suggesting the presence of constitutive endoglucanases of approximately 80 kDa. Studies with qRT-PCR revealed the presence of four genes encoding endoglucanases with distinct expression patterns, standing out an accumulation of transcripts from egl1 gene 9779.19 times higher than the calibrator sample in 24 h of growth in medium formulated with cellulose Celufloc E®. The same gene generated 1257.58 more accumulated transcripts than the reference sample in medium supplemented with SCB. Evaluation of gene expression for cellobiohydrolase yielded higher expression levels in the medium formulated with SCB in 48 h, in comparison to the medium containing cellulose Celufloc E® in 24 h, corresponding, respectively, to 6464.49 and 3093.26 more accumulated transcripts than the reference sample. The β-glucosidase gene was expressed in medium formulated with SCB at the beginning of growth, as opposed to that seen for activity of this enzyme, which occurred at the end of cultivation. The xylanase expression was more significant with the use of cellulose Celufloc E® in the culture medium. On the other hand, the gene for swollenin presents an expression profile with similar values compared to using cellulose Celufloc E® and SCB in the culture medium, although the presence of SCB has provided a later expression. Very low values of gene expression have been found for all genes evaluated when glucose was used as carbon source for P. echinulatum. A coordinated expression of endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolase, β-glucosidase and swollenin was was also verified.