Frontier studies on wood decaying fungi in the keyword "epigenetics"

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19H03017
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 40020:Wood science-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Nakazawa Takehito 京都大学, 農学研究科, 助教 (80608141)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 坂本 正弘 京都大学, 農学研究科, 准教授 (40303870)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 木材腐朽菌 / リグニン / セルロース / ヒストン / 糸状菌 / バイオマス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Our previous study implied that histone H3 N-dimethylation at lysine 4 level possibly affects the shift; therefore, we analysed the expression pattern in P. ostreatus ccl1 disruptants in which the methylation level was decreased. The results showed upregulation of some cellulolytic enzyme-encoding genes. We also examined the effects of H3K36 methylation. Upregulation of seven cellulolytic enzyme-encoding genes, including the four upregulated in the ccl1 disruptants, was observed in the K36A mutant strains of hst3a, the major histone H3-encoding gene. Unlike in the ccl1 disruptants and hst3a K36A mutants, downregulation of at least four cellulolytic enzyme-encoding genes abundantly expressed in 20b was observed in the gene disruptants of kdm4 encoding a putative H3K36 demethylase.

Free Research Field

木質科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

木材腐朽菌の分解酵素遺伝子群は、培養条件によって転写レベルで調節されていることが昔から知られていた。転写調節の分子機構の解明は、人為的な木材分解制御（分解能の改変）に重要である。しかし、分子遺伝学研究がほとんど行われておらず、ほとんど明らかになっていなかった。本研究では、これらの障壁を打ち破り、突破口を見出した。