Gene expression analysis of Aspergillus nidulans growing on lignocellulosic substrate. Aspergillus nidulans strain:R21

Sugarcane is one of the world’s most profitable crops. Waste steam exploded sugarcane bagasse (SEB) is a cheap, abundant and renewable lignocellulosic feedstock for next-generation biofuels. In nature, fungi seldom exist as planktonic cells, similar to those found in the nutrient-rich environment created within an industrial fermenter. Instead fungi predominantly form biofilms that allow them to thrive in hostile environments. In turn, we adopted a RNA-sequencing approach to interrogate how the model fungus, Aspergillus nidulans, adapts to SEB, revealing the induction of the lignocellulolytic machinery in addition to morphological adaptations.