Nuclear Regulators of Fungal Enzymes

The dependence of mankind on petroleum- and oil-based fuels as the main energy source is widely recognised as being accompanied by several problems that impact the global economy and environmental health.

In recent years, the conversion of plant biomass to biofuels, in a process called 1st- (1G) and 2nd-generation (2G) biofuel-production, has gained significant interest as an environmentally friendly and naturally abundant alternative, renewable energy source.

The EU (European Union) legislation implements that by 2020, 20% of energy must be derived from renewable sources, showing the importance that renewable energy source production will play in the future.

Saprobic microorganisms, such as filamentous fungi of the genus Aspergillus, are of particular interest for this process as they secrete a vast array of plant biomass hydrolyzing enzymes.

A major drawback in the production of renewable biofuels is built-up of glucose during enzymatic hydrolysis of plant biomass, resulting in the transcriptional repression of fungal enzyme-encoding genes and subsequent secretion.

The here described fellowship is proposing to uncover novel proteins involved in the regulation of hydrolytic enzymes and secondary metabolites production in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans that can be explored for biotechnological processes.

To implement this project, the candidate will be hosted at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth in the laboratory of Fungal Genetics and Secondary Metabolism, under the supervision of Dr. Ozgur Bayram.