Mitochondria thioredoxin's backup role in oxidative stress resistance in Trichoderma reesei

Microorganisms often suffer from oxidative stress created from nutrient starvation and environmental changes. Thioredoxin (Trx) and glutathione (GSH) pathways are believed critical in related protective functions. The roles of Trx in improving abiotic stress resistance in Trichoderma reesei are still unclear. In this study, we identified a Trx-encoding gene, Trtrx1. The protein expressed located specifically in the mitochondria as verified by the fluorescence signals of TrTRX1-EGFP. TrTRX1 can catalyze the reduction of insulin disulfides by dithiothreitol (DTT). Loss of Trtrx1 however, did not lead to either significant morphology abnormality under normal and oxidative stress condition, or detectable difference in reactive oxygen species (ROS) resistance. The unchanged GSH amount in Trtrx1 deletion strain under normal condition and slight increase under oxidative stress condition, as well as the interplay between Trx and GSH systems suggested that GSH system was dominant and sufficient to maintain the mitochondrial redox state in T. reesei, where TrTRX1 played a role as the backup oxidative stress resistance.