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Moulding the Mould: Understanding and Reprogramming Filamentous Fungal Growth and Morphogenesis for Next Generation Cell Factories

Summary

This research examines how scientists can control and optimize the growth patterns of industrial fungi to produce valuable products more efficiently. These microscopic organisms are used to make many important products including medicines, enzymes, and food ingredients. Understanding how to control their growth is crucial for industrial applications. Impacts on everyday life: – More efficient production of medicines like antibiotics and cholesterol-lowering drugs – Lower costs for industrial enzymes used in detergents, food processing, and biofuels – Development of more sustainable manufacturing processes for chemicals and materials – Improved food products through better fungal fermentation processes – Potential new materials for construction and textiles from fungal biomass

Background

Filamentous fungi are widely used as cell factories for industrial production of organic acids, proteins, and secondary metabolites worth billions of dollars annually. Growth and morphology have critical implications for product yields in both submerged and solid-state fermentations. Recent advances in systems biology and synthetic biology tools now enable rational strain development based on data-driven approaches.

Objective

This review aims to summarize recent insights into the relationship between filamentous growth and product titers from genetic, metabolic, modeling, subcellular, macromorphological and process engineering perspectives, with a focus on Aspergillus species and other industrial fungi. The review evaluates current progress in understanding product secretion mechanisms and discusses strategies for identifying and manipulating key genes to optimize fungal morphology for improved performance.

Results

The review identified several key findings: 1) Thousands of genes may contribute to fungal morphology, with signaling cascades being promising targets for engineering. 2) Different products require different optimal morphologies – proteins are best produced during active growth while secondary metabolites form during low/zero growth. 3) New tools like CRISPR-Cas9 and synthetic biology approaches enable precise genome modifications. 4) Modeling approaches can now predict morphology from growth parameters and subcellular organization.

Conclusion

Recent technological advances in systems and synthetic biology now allow rational engineering of fungal morphology for optimized industrial performance. While significant progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of fungal growth, further research is needed to fully exploit these organisms for sustainable bioeconomy applications. Future developments in genome minimalization and chassis strain development will enable highly programmable growth and diversified production capabilities.
  • Published in:Biotechnology for Biofuels,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: 10.1186/s13068-019-1400-4
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