André Damasio

University of Campinas | UNICAMP · Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology

Simultaneous intracellular depolymerization of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) and acetate fermentation by engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae offers significant potential for more cost-effective second-generation (2G) ethanol production. In the present work, the previously engineered S. cerevisiae strain, SR8A6S3, expressing enzymes for xylose assimil...

Protein acetylation is a crucial post-translational modification that controls gene expression and a variety of biological processes. Sirtuins, a prominent class of NAD+-dependent lysine deacetylases, serve as key regulators of protein acetylation and gene expression in eukaryotes. In this study, six single knockout strains of fungal pathogen Asper...

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a major global outbreak of respiratory tract disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects mainly lungs and may cause several immune-related complications, such as lymphocytopenia and cytokine storm, which are associated with the severity of...

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a major global outbreak of respiratory tract disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects mainly lungs and may cause several immune-related complications, such as lymphocytopenia and cytokine storm, which are associated with the severity of...

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a major global outbreak of respiratory tract disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects mainly lungs and may cause several immune-related complications, such as lymphocytopenia and cytokine storm, which are associated with the severity of...

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a major global outbreak of respiratory tract disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects mainly lungs and may cause several immune-related complications, such as lymphocytopenia and cytokine storm, which are associated with the severity of...

A bstract Simultaneous intracellular depolymerization of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) and acetate fermentation by engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae offers an advance towards more cost-effective second-generation (2G) ethanol production. As xylan is one of the most abundant polysaccharides present in lignocellulosic residues, the transport and brea...

Background Lignin is an attractive alternative for producing biobased chemicals. It is the second major component of the plant cell wall and is an abundant natural source of aromatic compounds. Lignin degradation using microbial oxidative enzymes that depolymerize lignin and catabolize aromatic compounds into central metabolic intermediates is a pr...

Although increasing evidence confirms neuropsychiatric manifestations associated mainly with severe COVID-19 infection, long-term neuropsychiatric dysfunction (recently characterized as part of “long COVID-19” syndrome) has been frequently observed after mild infection. We show the spectrum of cerebral impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome co...

Fungal lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are copper-dependent enzymes that boost plant biomass degradation in combination with glycoside hydrolases. Secretion of LPMO9s arsenal by Aspergillus nidulans is influenced by the substrate and time of induction.

Wood-feeding termites effectively degrade plant biomass through enzymatic degradation. Despite their high efficiencies, however, individual glycoside hydrolases isolated from termites and their symbionts exhibit anomalously low effectiveness in lignocellulose degradation, suggesting hereto unknown enzymatic activities in their digestome. Herein, we...

The biocatalytic production of fuels and chemicals from plant biomass represents an attractive alternative to fossil fuel-based refineries. In this context, the mining and characterization of novel biocatalysts can promote disruptive innovation opportunities in the field of lignocellulose conversion and valorization. In the present work, we conduct...

The engineering of xylo-oligosaccharide-consuming Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains is a promising approach for more effective utilization of lignocellulosic biomass and the development of economic industrial fermentation processes. Extending the sugar consumption range without catabolite repression by including the metabolism of oligomers instead o...

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are metalloenzymes that cleave structural polysaccharides through an oxidative mechanism. The enzymatic activity of LPMOs relies on the presence of a Cu2+ histidine-brace motif in their flat catalytic surface. Upon reduction by an external electron donor and in the presence of its co-substrates, O2 or H2O...

A purified exo-polygalacturonase of Neosartorya glabra (EplNg) was successfully characterized. EplNg native presented 68.2 kDa, with 32% carbohydrate content. The deglycosylated form showed 46.3 kDa and isoelectric point 5.4. The identity of EplNg was confirmed as an exo-polygalacturonase class I (EC 3.2.1.67) using mass spectrometry and Western-Bl...

The ongoing global pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first described in Wuhan, China. A subset of COVID-19 patients has been reported to have acquired secondary infections by microbial pathogens, such as opportunistic fungal pathogens from the...

Trichoderma reesei is one of the major producers of holocellulases. It is known that in T. reesei, protein production patterns can change in a carbon source-dependent manner. Here, we performed a phosphorylome analysis of T. reesei grown in the presence of sugarcane bagasse and glucose as carbon source. In presence of sugarcane bagasse, a total of...

Background Wood-decay basidiomycetes are effective for the degradation of highly lignified and recalcitrant plant substrates. The degradation of lignocellulosic materials by brown-rot strains is carried out by carbohydrate-active enzymes and non-enzymatic Fenton mechanism. Differences in the lignocellulose catabolism among closely related brown rot...

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are copper-dependent enzymes which catalyze the oxidative cleavage of polysaccharides. LPMOs belonging to the family 15 in the Auxiliary Activity (AA) class from the Carbohydrate-Active Enzyme database are found widespread across the Tree of Life, including viruses, algae, oomycetes and animals. Recently,...

Glycoside hydrolases (GH) are involved in the degradation of a wide diversity of carbohydrates and present several biotechnological applications. Many GH families are composed of enzymes with a single well-defined specificity. In contrast, enzymes from the GH16 family can act on a range of different polysaccharides, including β-glucans and galactan...

The plant cell wall is the most abundant carbon reservoir in nature and is a renewable source of biofuels. To break down this biomass and convert it into fermentable sugars, a set of multiple enzymes is needed. Here, we characterize the enzymatic repertoire necessary for the degradation of sugarcane bagasse “in natura” and pre-treated using Aspergi...

It is urgent the transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a sustainable bioeconomy, based on bioconversion technologies using renewable plant biomass feedstocks to produce high chemicals, bioplastics, and biofuels. β-Glucosidases are key enzymes responsible for degrading the plant cell wall polymers, as they cleave glucan-based oligo- and pol...

COVID-19 patients may exhibit neuropsychiatric and neurological symptoms. We found that anxiety and cognitive impairment are manifested by 28-56% of SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals with mild respiratory symptoms and are associated with altered cerebral cortical thickness. Using an independent cohort, we found histopathological signs of brain damage...

The ongoing global pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first described from Wuhan, China. A subset of COVID-19 patients has been reported to have acquired secondary infections by microbial pathogens, such as fungal opportunistic pathogens from...

COVID-19 patients may exhibit neuropsychiatric and/or neurological symptoms. We found that anxiety and cognitive impairment are manifested by 28-56% of SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals with mild or no respiratory symptoms and are associated with altered cerebral cortical thickness. Using an independent cohort, we found histopathological signs of bra...

Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass accounts for 20–30% of the total cost of second-generation bioethanol production and many efforts have been made in recent years to overcome the high cost of enzymes. Using cello-oligosaccharides (COS), intermediates in cellulose conversion to glucose, may provide advantages over monomeric glucose fer...

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a major global outbreak of respiratory tract disease known as coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects the lungs and may cause several immune-related complications such as lymphocytopenia and cytokine storm which are associated with the severity of the d...

COVID-19 can result in severe lung injury. It remained to be determined why diabetic individuals with uncontrolled glucose levels are more prone to develop the severe form of COVID-19. The molecular mechanism underlying SARS-CoV-2 infection and what determines the onset of the cytokine storm found in severe COVID-19 patients are unknown. Monocytes/...

Background: Wood-decay basidiomycetes are effective for the degradation of highly lignified and recalcitrant substrates. Brown-rot strains produce carbohydrate-active enzymes involved in the degradation of lignocellulosic materials, along with a non-enzymatic mechanism via Fenton reaction. Differences in the lignocellulose metabolism among closely...

Sugarcane straw (SS) is a widely available agricultural processing feedstock with the potential to produce 2nd generation bioethanol and bioproducts, in addition to the more conventional use for heat and/or electrical power generation. In this study, we investigated the operational parameters to maximize the production of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS...

HIGHLIGHTS • Elevated glucose levels directly promote viral replication and cytokine expression. • Aerobic glycolysis is necessary to sustain CoV-2 replication in monocytes and CoV-2-induced monocyte response. • Mitochondrial ROS/HIF-1α axis is required for the induction of glycolysis and the consequent proinflammatory state of CoV-2-infected monoc...

Filamentous fungi are important cell factories for large‐scale enzyme production. However, production levels are often low, and this limitation has stimulated research focusing on the manipulation of genes with predicted function in the protein secretory pathway. This pathway is the major route for the delivery of proteins to the cell exterior, and...

In recent years, the intensification of the use of immunosuppressive therapies has increased the incidence of invasive infections caused by opportunistic fungi. Considering that, the spread of azole resistance and amphotericin B (AmB) inefficiency against some clinical and environmental isolates has been described. Thus, to avoid a global problem w...

Background: β-Xylosidases are glycoside hydrolases (GHs) that cleave xylooligosaccharides and/or xylobiose into shorter oligosaccharides and xylose. Aspergillus nidulans is an established genetic model and good source of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes). Most fungal enzymes are N-glycosylated, which influences their secretion, stability, acti...

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) are non-digestible food ingredients with prebiotic properties for selectively promoting the growth of probiotics, which provide many health benefits and several applications in the food and pharmaceutical industry. The objective of this study was to optimize the concentration of commercial hemicellulases for the productio...

Xylanases decrease the xylan content in pretreated biomass releasing it from hemicellulose, thus improving the accessibility of cellulose for cellulases. In this work, an endo-β-1,4-xylanase from Aspergillus fumigatus var. niveus (AFUMN-GH10) was successfully expressed. The structural analysis and biochemical characterization showed this AFUMN-GH10...

Secretome evaluations of lignocellulose-decay basidiomycetes can reveal new enzymes in selected fungal species that degrade specific substrates. Proteins discovered in such studies can support biorefinery development. Brown-rot (Gloeophyllum trabeum) and white-rot (Pleurotus ostreatus) fungi growing in sugarcane bagasse solid-state cultures produce...

Ferulic acid (FA), a low-molecular weight aromatic compound derived from lignin, represents a high-value molecule, used for applications in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. FA can be further enzymatically converted in other commercially interesting molecules, such as vanillin and bioplastics. In several organisms, these transformations o...

(A) HisTrapTMHP affinity chromatograpy profile. Green line indicates the linear gradient of buffer B (20 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 7.0, 100 mM NaCl, 500 mM imidazole). Fractions 1 and 2 marked as red numbers were collected to further purification in size-exclusion chromatography. (B) Superdex 200 HiLoad 16/600 GL size exclusion chromatography....

Spectral scanning of FA in different buffer systems. (A) 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer. (B) 20 mM ABF buffer. (C) Difference of absorbances in potassium phosphate and ABF buffers. 0.5 mM of FA was mixed with either 20 mM ABF buffer or 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pHs 5.8, 6.2, 6.6, 7.0, 7.4, 7.8, 8.0, 8.2, 8.6, 9.0, 9.4 and 9.8, in a fina...

FCS1 kinetics (Michaelis-Menten plot). (TIF)

Determination of FCS1 molecular weight. (A) Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) of purified FCS1 on Superdex-200. (B) Size distribution by intensity for purified FCS1 where dynamic light scattering (DLS) runs were performed at pH 7.0 and 20 oC. (TIF)

The proposed catalytic activity of Fcs from FA. (TIF)

Capillary zone electrophoresis of FCS1 enzymatic products at different alkaline pHs. Enzymatic reactions contained 1 mM FA and 10 μg purified enzyme. After incubation for 5 minutes at 37°C, the reactions were immediately diluted 1:10 in methanol 100%. All the measurements were made with the P/ACE MDQ capillary electrophoresis system (Beckman Coulte...

Residual plots where the experimental intensity divided by computed intensity was plotted as a function of the scattering vector q. (A) Monomeric model. (B) Homodimeric model. (C) Dummy Atom Model (DAM). (TIF)

Biotechnologists are interested in thermo tolerant fungi to manufacture enzymes active and stable at high temperatures, because they provide improved catalytic efficiency, strengthen enzyme substrate interactions, accelerate substrate enzyme conversion rates, enhance mass transfer, lower substrate viscosity, lessen contamination risk and offer the...

Filamentous fungi are robust cell factories and have been used for the production of large quantities of industrially relevant enzymes. However, the production levels of heterologous proteins still need to be improved. Therefore, this article aimed to investigate the global proteome profiling of Aspergillus nidulans recombinant strains in order to...

Table S1. List of proteins identified by LC‐MS/MS and spectrum counts on the replicates.

Table S2. Comparative analysis of proteins abundance in the recombinant strains.

Table S3. Total spectra of proteins identified in the Aspergillus nidulans secretomes.

Fig. S1. Overview of target proteins structure.

Table S4. Oligonucleotides used in this study for qPCR analysis.

Filamentous fungi are important cellular factories for the production and secretion of homologous and heterologous enzymes such as carbohydrate-active enzymes. However, the regulation of protein secretion in these microorganisms requires more profound studies since the enzyme levels produced are usually below the levels required by industry for pro...

Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes are key enzymes for biomass-to-bioproducts conversion. α-L-Arabinofuranosidases that belong to the Glycoside Hydrolase family 62 (GH62) have important applications in biofuel production from plant biomass by hydrolyzing arabinoxylans, found in both the primary and secondary cell walls of plants. In this work, we identifi...

Dear colleagues, In collaboration with Frontiers Journals, we are organizing a Research Topic titled "Advances in the Regulation and Production of Fungal Enzymes by Transcriptomics, Proteomics and Recombinant Strains Design". As host editor, I would like to encourage you to contribute to this topic. http://journal.frontiersin.org/researchtopic/621...

Xyloglucan is the most abundant hemicellulose in primary walls of spermatophytes except for grasses. Xyloglucan-degrading enzymes are important in lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysis because they remove xyloglucan, which is abundant in monocot-derived biomass. Fungal genomes encode numerous xyloglucanase genes, belonging to at least six glycoside hy...

Traditional ethanol from sugarcane, also known as first generation ethanol (1G), is one of the greatest technological achievements in the modern history of Brazil. Second-generation bioethanol (2G) from sugarcane bagasse is considered a rational and sustainable alternative to the expansion of the sugarcane industry. However, 2G technology is not ye...

Background The fungal genus Aspergillus is of critical importance to humankind. Species include those with industrial applications, important pathogens of humans, animals and crops, a source of potent carcinogenic contaminants of food, and an important genetic model. The genome sequences of eight aspergilli have already been explored to investigate...