Is quorum sensing involved in lovastatin production in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus terreus?

• Published in: Process biochemistry (1991) 2012-05, Vol.47 (5), p.843-852
• Main Authors: Raina, Sheetal, De Vizio, Daniela, Palonen, Elina K., Odell, Mark, Brandt, Annika M., Soini, Juhani T., Keshavarz, Tajalli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aspergillus terreus; Autoinducer; Butyrolactone; Fermentation; Lovastatin; Quorum sensing
• ISSN: 1359-5113; 1873-3298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2012.02.021

► Butyrolactone I suggested as a quorum sensing molecule in Aspergillus terreus. ► Butyrolactone I increases endogenous butyrolactone I level, so is an autoinducer. ► Butyrolactone I, as a quorum sensing molecule, increases lovastatin level. ► Lovastatin biosynthetic genes lovB and lovF are induced at transcription level. ► Microarray analysis of fungus transcriptome showed growth stage-specific response. A novel role for butyrolactone I as a quorum sensing molecule in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus terreus is proposed based on its ability to affect both lovastatin and its own production. In this work, the exogenous addition of 100nM butyrolactone I at 96h post-inoculation to submerged cultures of A. terreus in 5L bioreactors resulted in 2.5-fold increase in lovastatin production as compared to control cultures at 168h. An increase in endogenous butyrolactone I levels (2.5-fold) is also detected in cultures supplemented with butyrolactone I, thus suggesting an auto-stimulatory function. Molecular analysis of butyrolactone I-mediated enhancement of lovastatin production revealed induction of lovastatin biosynthetic genes, lovB and lovF, at the transcriptional level. Microarray analysis of A. terreus transcriptome depicted a growth phase-specific response to butyrolactone I addition as the majority of the expressed genes showed differential expression during the specific growth phase (p