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Pr<i>laeA</i> Affects the Production of Roquefortine C, Mycophenolic Acid, and Andrastin A in <i>Penicillium roqueforti</i>, but It Has Little Impact on Asexual Development
oleh: Yudethzi Marcano, Mariana Montanares, Carlos Gil-Durán, Kathia González, Gloria Levicán, Inmaculada Vaca, Renato Chávez
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2023-09-01 |
Deskripsi
The regulation of fungal specialized metabolism is a complex process involving various regulators. Among these regulators, LaeA, a methyltransferase protein originally discovered in <i>Aspergillus</i> spp., plays a crucial role. Although the role of LaeA in specialized metabolism has been studied in different fungi, its function in <i>Penicillium roqueforti</i> remains unknown. In this study, we employed CRISPR-Cas9 technology to disrupt the <i>laeA</i> gene in <i>P. roqueforti</i> (Pr<i>laeA</i>) aiming to investigate its impact on the production of the specialized metabolites roquefortine C, mycophenolic acid, and andrastin A, as well as on asexual development, because they are processes that occur in the same temporal stages within the physiology of the fungus. Our results demonstrate a substantial reduction in the production of the three metabolites upon disruption of Pr<i>laeA</i>, suggesting a positive regulatory role of LaeA in their biosynthesis. These findings were further supported by qRT-PCR analysis, which revealed significant downregulation in the expression of genes associated with the biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) responsible for producing roquefortine C, mycophenolic acid, and andrastin A in the ΔPr<i>laeA</i> strains compared with the wild-type <i>P. roqueforti</i>. Regarding asexual development, the disruption of Pr<i>laeA</i> led to a slight decrease in colony growth rate, while conidiation and conidial germination remained unaffected. Taken together, our results suggest that LaeA positively regulates the expression of the analyzed BGCs and the production of their corresponding metabolites in <i>P. roqueforti</i>, but it has little impact on asexual development.