Suberin degradation by Aspergillus nidulans

The study aims essentially at the characterisation of suberin degradation mechanisms by Aspergillus nidulans, at a fundamental level. Suberin is an important protective barrier in plant, thus the study of its biodegradation significantly impacts on phytopatology. In addition, fungal suberin degrading enzymes might provide important insights to develop new waste management, bioremediation and biodeterioration prevention strategies. The Aspergillus nidulans cultures were grown for two days in mineral media containing glucose (T0). After this time point, the extracellular media was replaced by fresh mineral media containing suberin as the sole carbon source and allowed to incubate for two (T1), four (T2) and six (T3) days. To investigate the mechanisms by which the fungus was able to degrade suberin, the fungal transcriptome (three biological replicates) was analysed using Affymetrix microarrays. Pair-wise comparisons were used to identify the set of genes with altered expression levels between the control (grown on glucose) and during growth on suberin for two, four or six days.