Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 19, 2026
Expression of Recombinant Cellulase Cel5A from Trichoderma reesei in Tobacco Plants
Published on: June 13, 2014
Identification of Tr80437 as a Key Gene for Furfural Resistance and Enhanced Cellulase Production in Trichoderma
Yuhang Luo1,2, Yao Zhang1,2, Yuqiang Zheng1,2
1National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microbiology and Fermentation Technology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China.
Abstract:
Trichoderma reesei is a primary fungal strain for industrial cellulase production but is strongly inhibited by furfural, a cytotoxic byproduct generated during lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment. To overcome this limitation, a furfural-tolerant T. reesei mutant was generated via atmospheric and room-temperature plasma (ARTP) mutagenesis and backcrossing. Bulked Segregant Analysis (BSA) of F1 progeny with contrasting tolerance phenotypes identified a quantitative trait locus on chromosome X containing 172 candidate genes. Comparative analysis with Neurospora crassa and functional screening using its knockout library identified a furfural tolerance-related gene, NCU04116. Disruption of Tr80437, the T. reesei orthologue of NCU04116, conferred enhanced furfural tolerance and increased cellulase activity under furfural stress compared with the wild-type strain. These findings identify Tr80437 as a promising genetic target for engineering robust T. reesei strains for industrial cellulase production.
