Comparative analysis of the Trichoderma reesei transcriptome during growth on the cellulase inducing substrates wheat straw and lactose

Background: Renewable lignocellulosic biomass is an advantageous resource for the production of second generation biofuels and other biorefinery products. In Middle Europe, wheat straw is one of the most abundant low-cost sources of lignocellulosic biomass. For its efficient use, an efficient mix of cellulases and hemicellulases is required. In this paper, we investigated how cellulase production by T. reesei on wheat straw compares to that on lactose, the only soluble and also cheap inducing carbon source for enzyme production. Results: We have examined and compared the transcriptome of T. reesei growing on wheat straw and lactose as carbon sources under otherwise similar conditions. Gene expression on wheat straw exceeded that on lactose, and 1619 genes were found to be only induced on wheat straw but not on lactose. They comprised 30% of the CAZome, but were also enriched in genes associated with phospholipid metabolism, DNA synthesis and repair, iron homeostatis and autophagy. Two thirds of the CAZome was expressed both on wheat straw as well as on lactose, but 60% of it at least >2-fold higher on the former. Major wheat straw specific genes comprised xylanases, chitinases and mannosidases. Interestingly, the latter two CAZyme families were significantly higher expressed in a strain in which xyr1 encoding the major regulator of cellulase and hemicellulase biosynthesis is non-functional. Conclusions: Our data reveal several major differences in the transcriptome between wheat straw and lactose which may be related to the higher enzyme formation on the former and their further investigation could lead to the development of methods for increasing enzyme production on lactose.