Exploring the complexity of xylitol production in the fungal cell factory Aspergillus niger

Astrid Müller; Jiali Meng; Robin Kuijpers; Miia R. Mäkelä; Ronald P. de Vries

doi:10.1016/j.enzmictec.2024.110550

Exploring the complexity of xylitol production in the fungal cell factory Aspergillus niger

Astrid Müller
, Jiali Meng
, Robin Kuijpers
, Miia R. Mäkelä
, Ronald P. de Vries^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Utrecht University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

113 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Production of xylitol from agricultural by-products offers a promising approach for the circular bioeconomy. This study investigates the roles of transcription factors XlnR and CreA in xylitol production from wheat bran in Aspergillus niger by generating strains with a constitutively active XlnR (XlnR_c, V756F mutation) and/or deletion of creA, in a previously generated xylitol-producing strain. The XlnR_c mutation increased the initial rate of xylitol production but lowered the overall accumulation. Deletion of creA in this strain significantly improved both the onset and rate of xylitol production, indicating an inhibitory role of CreA in the PCP. These results demonstrate the complexity of metabolic engineering to generate fungal cell factories for valuable biochemicals, such as xylitol, as not only metabolic but also multiple gene regulation aspects need to be considered.

Original language	English
Article number	110550
Number of pages	6
Journal	Enzyme and Microbial Technology
Volume	183
Early online date	26 Nov 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enzmictec.2024.110550
Publication status	Published - Feb 2025
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

JM gratefully acknowledges the China Scholarship Council Scholarship (grant no: 201907720027). Funding from the Academy of Finland (grant no: 348443) to MRM is acknowledged.

Keywords

Aspergillus niger
Circular economy
Fungal cell factory
Metabolic engineering
Pentose catabolic pathway
Xylitol

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title = "Exploring the complexity of xylitol production in the fungal cell factory Aspergillus niger",

abstract = "Production of xylitol from agricultural by-products offers a promising approach for the circular bioeconomy. This study investigates the roles of transcription factors XlnR and CreA in xylitol production from wheat bran in Aspergillus niger by generating strains with a constitutively active XlnR (XlnRc, V756F mutation) and/or deletion of creA, in a previously generated xylitol-producing strain. The XlnRc mutation increased the initial rate of xylitol production but lowered the overall accumulation. Deletion of creA in this strain significantly improved both the onset and rate of xylitol production, indicating an inhibitory role of CreA in the PCP. These results demonstrate the complexity of metabolic engineering to generate fungal cell factories for valuable biochemicals, such as xylitol, as not only metabolic but also multiple gene regulation aspects need to be considered.",

keywords = "Aspergillus niger, Circular economy, Fungal cell factory, Metabolic engineering, Pentose catabolic pathway, Xylitol",

author = "Astrid M{\"u}ller and Jiali Meng and Robin Kuijpers and M{\"a}kel{\"a}, \{Miia R.\} and \{de Vries\}, \{Ronald P.\}",

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T1 - Exploring the complexity of xylitol production in the fungal cell factory Aspergillus niger

AU - Müller, Astrid

AU - Meng, Jiali

AU - Kuijpers, Robin

AU - Mäkelä, Miia R.

AU - de Vries, Ronald P.

PY - 2025/2

Y1 - 2025/2

N2 - Production of xylitol from agricultural by-products offers a promising approach for the circular bioeconomy. This study investigates the roles of transcription factors XlnR and CreA in xylitol production from wheat bran in Aspergillus niger by generating strains with a constitutively active XlnR (XlnRc, V756F mutation) and/or deletion of creA, in a previously generated xylitol-producing strain. The XlnRc mutation increased the initial rate of xylitol production but lowered the overall accumulation. Deletion of creA in this strain significantly improved both the onset and rate of xylitol production, indicating an inhibitory role of CreA in the PCP. These results demonstrate the complexity of metabolic engineering to generate fungal cell factories for valuable biochemicals, such as xylitol, as not only metabolic but also multiple gene regulation aspects need to be considered.

AB - Production of xylitol from agricultural by-products offers a promising approach for the circular bioeconomy. This study investigates the roles of transcription factors XlnR and CreA in xylitol production from wheat bran in Aspergillus niger by generating strains with a constitutively active XlnR (XlnRc, V756F mutation) and/or deletion of creA, in a previously generated xylitol-producing strain. The XlnRc mutation increased the initial rate of xylitol production but lowered the overall accumulation. Deletion of creA in this strain significantly improved both the onset and rate of xylitol production, indicating an inhibitory role of CreA in the PCP. These results demonstrate the complexity of metabolic engineering to generate fungal cell factories for valuable biochemicals, such as xylitol, as not only metabolic but also multiple gene regulation aspects need to be considered.

KW - Aspergillus niger

KW - Circular economy

KW - Fungal cell factory

KW - Metabolic engineering

KW - Pentose catabolic pathway

KW - Xylitol

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JO - Enzyme and Microbial Technology

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ER -

Exploring the complexity of xylitol production in the fungal cell factory Aspergillus niger

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