Mining Genetically Encoded Biosensors from Filamentous Fungi

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Synthetic Biology
• Microbiology

Background:

• Genetically encoded biosensors enable real-time monitoring in living cells.
• Developing new eukaryotic biosensors is limited by a scarcity of signal-receptor pairs.
• Transferring bacterial biosensors to eukaryotes shows success but faces optimization challenges due to gene expression differences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review biosensing systems in filamentous fungi.
• To explore their potential for developing novel eukaryotic biosensors.
• To highlight challenges and applications of fungal biosensor development.

Main Methods:

• Systematic examination of biosensing systems in filamentous fungi.
• Summarization of signal recognition receptors, signal transduction pathways, and transcription factors.
• Overview of developed biosensors and synthetic tools from filamentous fungi.

Main Results:

• Filamentous fungi possess diverse signaling and metabolic pathways relevant to biosensing.
• Orthogonal signal-receptor pairs from eukaryotic systems are a viable solution for biosensor development.
• Potential biosensors and synthetic tools derived from filamentous fungi have been identified.

Conclusions:

• Filamentous fungi represent an underexplored resource for novel eukaryotic biosensor development.
• Developing biosensors directly from fungi can overcome limitations associated with bacterial system transfers.
• Further research into fungal biosensing systems promises expanded applications in biotechnology and synthetic biology.