A tri-species Aspergillus array (oryzae arrays)

The full genome sequencing of the filamentous fungi Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae has opened the possibilities for studying the cellular physiology of these fungi on a systemic level. As a tool to explore this, we are presenting an Affymetrix GeneChip developed for transcriptome analysis of any of the three above-mentioned aspergilli. Transcriptome analysis of triplicate batch cultivations of all three aspergilli on glucose-and xylose media has been performed, and used to validate the performance of the micro array. By doing gene comparisons of all three species, and cross-analysing this with the expression data, 23 genes, including the xylose transcriptional activator XlnR, have been identified to be a conserved response across the Aspergillus sp. Promoter analysis of the upregulated genes in all three species suggest the XlnR-binding site to be 5’-GGNTAAA-3’. We are thus presenting a validated tool for transcription analysis of three Aspergillus species and a methodology for comparative transcriptomics. Keywords: Physiological response Two conditions (glucose and xylose) and three biological replicates