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Irina S Druzhinina

Publications and source records attributed to Irina S Druzhinina.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

A screening system for carbon sources enhancing beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase formation in Hypocrea atroviridis (Trichoderma atroviride).

To identify carbon sources that trigger beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGase) formation in Hypocrea atroviridis (anamorph Trichoderma atroviride), a screening system was designed that consists of a combination of Biolog Phenotype MicroArray plates, which contain 95 different carbon sources, and specific enzyme activity measurements using a chromogenic substrate. The results revealed growth-dependent kinetics of NAGase formation and it was shown that NAGase activities were enhanced on carbon sources sharing certain structural properties, especially on alpha-glucans (e.g. glycogen, dextrin and maltotriose) and oligosaccharides containing galactose. Enzyme activities were assessed in the wild-type and a H. atroviridis Deltanag1 strain to investigate the influence of the two NAGases, Nag1 and Nag2, on total NAGase activity. Reduction of NAGase levels in the Deltanag1 strain in comparison to the wild-type was strongly carbon-source and growth-phase dependent, indicating the distinct physiological roles of the two proteins. The transcript abundance of nag1 and nag2 was increased on carbon sources with elevated NAGase activity, indicating transcriptional regulation of these genes. The screening method for the identification of carbon sources that induce enzymes or a gene of interest, as presented in this paper, can be adapted for other purposes if appropriate enzyme or reporter assays are available.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗

Carbon source utilization by the marine Dendryphiella species D. arenaria and D. salina.

Carbon utilization by the marine Dendryphiella species, D. arenaria and D. salina, was investigated to detect differences in utilization and traits associated with their adaptation to the marine habitat. Fifty-four strains were isolated world-wide and tested for the utilization of various carbon sources using BIOLOG phenotype MicroArray (PM) and for the production of extracellular enzymes on solid culture media and on API ZYM assay strips. PM analysis showed that the fastest growth occurred on several monosaccharides and amino acids, 2-keto-d-gluconic acid, succinamide and turanose. Some polyols were poor carbon sources. However, the two species differed in their utilization rates of carbon sources, forming three major clusters: two separate clusters for D. arenaria and D. salina and a third cluster in which strains of the two species formed separate subclades that correlated with geographic origin. Several carbon sources were also found useful in differentiating the two speices. Dendryphiella salina did not utilize xylitol and quinic acid, whereas D. arenaria grew well on these substrates. The latter failed to grow on sorbitol and grew slowly on mannitol, both were good substrates for the former. There were also no qualitative differences between the extracellular enzymes produced, although laccase and peroxidase activities were confined only to some strains. The physiological similarities exhibited by the two species support the close relationship between D. arenaria and D. salina.

Ascomycota↗

Global carbon utilization profiles of wild-type, mutant, and transformant strains of Hypocrea jecorina.

The ascomycete Hypocrea jecorina (Trichoderma reesei), an industrial producer of cellulases and hemicellulases, can efficiently degrade plant polysaccharides. However, the catabolic pathways for the resulting monomers and their relationship to enzyme induction are not well known. Here we used the Biolog Phenotype MicroArrays technique to evaluate the growth of H. jecorina on 95 carbon sources. For this purpose, we compared several wild-type isolates, mutants producing different amounts of cellulases, and strains transformed with a heterologous antibiotic resistance marker gene. The wild-type isolates and transformed strains had the highest variation in growth patterns on individual carbon sources. The cellulase mutants were relatively similar to their parental strains. Both in the mutant and in the transformed strains, the most significant changes occurred in utilization of xylitol, erythritol, D-sorbitol, D-ribose, D-galactose, L-arabinose, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, maltotriose, and beta-methyl-glucoside. Increased production of cellulases was negatively correlated with the ability to grow on gamma-aminobutyrate, adonitol, and 2-ketogluconate; and positively correlated with that on d-sorbitol and saccharic acid. The reproducibility, relative simplicity, and high resolution (+/-10% of increase in mycelial density) of the phenotypic microarrays make them a useful tool for the characterization of mutant and transformed strains and for a global analysis of gene function.

Carbon↗

Trichoderma biodiversity in China: evidence for a North to South distribution of species in East Asia.

Towards assessing the biodiversity and biogeography of Trichoderma, we have analyzed the occurrence of Trichoderma species in soil and litter from four areas in China: North (Hebei province), South-East (Zhejiang province), West (Himalayan, Tibet) and South-West (Yunnan province). One hundred and thirty five isolates were grouped according to tentative morphological identification. A representative 64 isolates were verified at the species level by the oligonucleotide barcode program TrichO Key v.1.0 and the custom BLAST server TrichoBLAST, using sequences of the ITS1 and 2 region of the rRNA cluster and from the longest intron of the tef1 (translation elongation factor 1-alpha) gene. Eleven known species (Trichoderma asperellum, T. koningii, T. atroviride, T. viride, T. velutinum, T. cerinum, T. virens, T. harzianum, T. sinensis, T. citrinoviride, T. longibrachiatum) and two putative new species (T. sp. C1, and T. sp. C2), distinguished from known species both by morphological characters and phylogenetic analysis, were identified. A significant difference in the occurrence of these species was found between the North (Hebei) and South-West (Yunnan) areas, which correlates with previously reported species distributions in Siberia and South-East Asia, respectively. As in previous studies, T. harzianum accounted for almost half of the biodiversity; although, in this study, it was exclusively found in the North, and was predominantly represented by an ITS1 and 2 haplotype, which has so far been rarely found elsewhere. This study therefore reveals a North-South gradient in species distribution in East Asia, and identifies Northern China as a potential center of origin of a unique haplotype of T. harzianum.

China↗

An oligonucleotide barcode for species identification in Trichoderma and Hypocrea.

One of the biggest obstructions to studies on Trichoderma has been the incorrect and confused application of species names to isolates used in industry, biocontrol of plant pathogens and ecological surveys, thereby making the comparison of results questionable. Here we provide a convenient, on-line method for the quick molecular identification of Hypocrea/Trichoderma at the genus and species levels based on an oligonucleotide barcode: a diagnostic combination of several oligonucleotides (hallmarks) specifically allocated within the internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 (ITS1 and 2) sequences of the rDNA repeat. The barcode was developed on the basis of 979 sequences of 88 vouchered species which displayed in total 135 ITS1 and 2 haplotypes. Oligonucleotide sequences which are constant in all known ITS1 and 2 of Hypocrea/Trichoderma but different in closely related fungal genera, were used to define genus-specific hallmarks. The library of species-, clade- and genus-specific hallmarks is stored in the MySQL database and integrated in the TrichOKey v. 1.0 - barcode sequence identification program with the web interface located on . TrichOKey v. 1.0 identifies 75 single species, 5 species pairs and 1 species triplet. Verification of the DNA-barcode was done by a blind test on 53 unknown isolates of Trichoderma, collected in Central and South America. The obtained results were in a total agreement with phylogenetic identification based on tef1 (large intron), NCBI BLAST of vouchered records and postum morphological analysis. We conclude that oligonucleotide barcode is a powerful tool for the routine identification of Hypocrea/Trichoderma species and should be useful as a complement to traditional methods.

Base Sequence↗

Hypocrea voglmayrii sp. nov. from the Austrian Alps represents a new phylogenetic clade in Hypocrea/Trichoderma.

The holomorph of the new species Hypocrea voglmayrii (Hypocreales, Ascomycota, Fungi) is described by a combined approach, using morphology of the teleomorph, morphology of the anamorph, culture studies and phylogenetic analyses of ITS1 and 2, ech42 and rpb2 gene sequences. Its anamorph Trichoderma voglmayrii is described as a new anamorph species. Unlike most other species of Hypocrea the teleomorph of H. voglmayrii occurs on dry standing trunks and exhibits well defined black ostioles. Although exclusively collected at higher altitudes, this species grows at 35 C in culture. Hypocrea voglmayrii develops pale yellowish to greenish conidia, a yellowish pigment and a coconut-like odor on CMD. Phylogenetically, H. voglmayrii forms a distinct, isolated branch between the section Trichoderma and the H. pachybasioides clade but does not associate with any of these clades in different gene trees.

Austria↗

Hypocrea crystalligena sp. nov., a common European species with a white-spored Trichoderma anamorph.

The new species Hypocrea crystalligena (Hypocreales, Ascomycota, Fungi) is described as a holomorph and characterized based on an integrated phenotypic and phylogenetic approach, using teleomorph and anamorph morphologies, culture studies and analyses of phylogenetic markers including internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 (ITS1 and 2), two last introns of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha encoding gene (tef1), and a portion of the rpb2 gene, encoding the second largest RNA polymerase subunit. Stromata of H. crystalligena show similarities with those of species from Trichoderma sect. Trichoderma but differ in several respects, including color, presence of white crystals on the surface and small ascospores. Colonies on CMD appear distinct, form colorless to white crystals on isolation, a yellowish to brown pigment and an anamorph with hyaline conidia exhibiting verticillium-like to gliocladium-like structural elements. ITS1 and 2 sequences exhibit all genus-specific features but also contain several unique hallmarks permitting development of a species-diagnostic barcode. Based on the analyses of partial rpb2 and tef1 sequences, H. crystalligena constitutes a separate evolutionary lineage with H. megalocitrina and H. psychrophila as its nearest neighbors. All these species form one phylogenetic clade with the H. pulvinata/H. citrina node.

DNA, Fungal↗