The coculture of Fomitopsis betulina with Escherichia coli induces a nutritional stress and triggers secondary metabolism pathways.
Basidiomycete fungi are an underexplored source of specialized metabolites with significant biotechnological potential. However, the environmental cues that activate their biosynthetic pathways remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the response of the wood-decaying fungus Fomitopsis betulina, to nutritional competition using co-cultures with Escherichia coli. On solid medium, F.…
Fomitopsis betulina, a type of basidiomycete fungus, holds potential in biotechnology due to its ability to produce specialized metabolites. Researchers explored how this fungus reacts to competition with Escherichia coli, a bacterium, by creating co-cultures. Upon solid medium, the fungus inhibited bacterial growth. Metabolomics analysis identified calcium diformate and sulfuric acid as compounds within the inhibition zone, suggesting these were linked to medium acidification.
Despite previous reports of piptamine production, the study did not detect this compound under these conditions. In liquid medium, co-culture led to rapid glucose depletion, causing carbon-starvation conditions and a 44% decrease in fungal biomass. Genetic analysis revealed extensive metabolic changes, with the Velvet regulatory complex, a key regulator for fungal development and specialized metabolism, showing increased activity.
The co-culture also activated genes related to terpene, polyketide, and fungal RiPP biosynthetic pathways. In conclusion, bacterial competition significantly triggers nutritional stress and secondary metabolism in Fomitopsis betulina, suggesting fungal-bacterial co-culture as a promising method to discover valuable metabolites from basidiomycetes.
Written by urgent.news from bioRxiv's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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