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Large-scale identification of transcripts expressed in a symbiotic fungus (Termitomyces) during plant biomass degradation

  • Genomics and Proteomics
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Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fungus-growing termites have a symbiotic relationship with the basidiomycetes of the genus Termitomyces. This symbiotic system is able to degrade dead plant material efficiently. We conducted expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis of a symbiotic Termitomyces fungus degrading plant material in a field nest of the termite Macrotermes gilvus. A subtractive cDNA library was also investigated to facilitate the discovery of genes expressed specifically under the symbiotic conditions. A total of 2,613 ESTs were collected and resulted in 1,582 nonredundant tentative consensus sequences, of which approximately 59% showed significant similarity to known protein sequences. A number of homologous sequences to genes involved in plant cell wall degradation were identified and a majority of them encoded putative pectinolytic enzymes. Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analyses confirmed significant upregulation of putative stress response genes under symbiotic conditions. The present ESTs database provides a valuable resource for molecular biological study of plant material degradation in the symbiosis between termites and fungi.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by grants for the Bioarchitect Research Program and the Eco Molecular Science Research Program from RIKEN. Y. T. was supported by a grant for the Asian Program Associate of RIKEN. The authors are grateful to Dr. J. Wasmuth for the prot4EST and Dr. Y. Hayashizaki for the DECODER. The authors are grateful to K. Sirihongsuwan and C. Boontong for assistance and to National Research Council of Thailand for the permission to research in Thailand.

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Author notes

  1. Toru Johjima

    Present address: Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, Kyoto, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Cooperative Research Project, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST-ICORP), Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan

    Toru Johjima & Toshiaki Kudo

  2. JST-PRESTO, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan

    Toru Johjima & Moriya Ohkuma

  3. Environmental Molecular Biology Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan

    Yaovapa Taprab, Toshiaki Kudo & Moriya Ohkuma

  4. Department of Microbiology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand

    Yaovapa Taprab & Napavarn Noparatnaraporn

  5. Division of Environmental Molecular Biology, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, 2300-0045, Japan

    Toshiaki Kudo

Authors
  1. Toru Johjima
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  2. Yaovapa Taprab
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  3. Napavarn Noparatnaraporn
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  4. Toshiaki Kudo
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  5. Moriya Ohkuma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Moriya Ohkuma.

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Table S1

Primers for quantitative RT-PCR used in this study (DOC 24 kb)

Table S2

BLASTX results of nonsubtractive cDNA Library (XLS 250 kb)

Table S3

BLAST results of subtractive library (XLS 68 kb)

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Johjima, T., Taprab, Y., Noparatnaraporn, N. et al. Large-scale identification of transcripts expressed in a symbiotic fungus (Termitomyces) during plant biomass degradation. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 73, 195–203 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0570-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0570-8

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