Trends in biological data integration for the selection of enzymes and transcription factors related to cellulose and hemicellulose degradation in fungi

Abstract

Fungi are key players in biotechnological applications. Although several studies focusing on fungal diversity and genetics have been performed, many details of fungal biology remain unknown, including how cellulolytic enzymes are modulated within these organisms to allow changes in main plant cell wall compounds, cellulose and hemicellulose, and subsequent biomass conversion. With the advent and consolidation of DNA/RNA sequencing technology, different types of information can be generated at the genomic, structural and functional levels, including the gene expression profiles and regulatory mechanisms of these organisms, during degradation-induced conditions. This increase in data generation made rapid computational development necessary to deal with the large amounts of data generated. In this context, the origination of bioinformatics, a hybrid science integrating biological data with various techniques for information storage, distribution and analysis, was a fundamental step toward the current state-of-the-art in the postgenomic era. The possibility of integrating biological big data has facilitated exciting discoveries, including identifying novel mechanisms and more efficient enzymes, increasing yields, reducing costs and expanding opportunities in the bioprocess field. In this review, we summarize the current status and trends of the integration of different types of biological data through bioinformatics approaches for biological data analysis and enzyme selection.

Keywords: Bioinformatics; Bioprocesses; Biotechnology; Data integration; Fungi.

Fig. 1

Data integration approach for selecting enzymes for application in bioprocesses

Fig. 2

Genomic annotation of CAZymes in different fungi of biotechnological interest

Fig. 3

TFs related to the expression of hydrolytic enzymes in fungi grown in the presence of glucose or cellulose