Scopoletin is a coumarin compound with various biological activities including detumescence and analgesic, insecticidal, antibacterial and acaricidal effects. However, interference with scopolin and other components often leads to difficulties in purification of scopoletin with low extraction rates from plant resource. In this paper, heterologous expression of the gene encoding β-glucosidase An-bgl3 derived from Aspergillus niger were carried out. The expression product was purified and characterized with further structure-activity relationship between it and β-glucosidase analyzed. Subsequently, its ability for transforming scopolin from plant extract was studied. The results showed that the specific activity of the purified β-glucosidase An-bgl3 was 15.22 IU/mg, the apparent molecular weight was about 120 kDa. The optimum reaction temperature and pH were 55 ℃ and 4.0, respectively. Moreover, 10 mmol/L metal ions Fe²⁺ and Mn²⁺ increased the enzyme activity by 1.74-fold and 1.20-fold, respectively. A 10 mmol/L solution containing Tween-20, Tween-80 and Triton X-100 all inhibited the enzyme activity by 30%. The enzyme showed affinity towards scopolin and tolerated 10% methanol and 10% ethanol solution, respectively. The enzyme specifically hydrolyzed scopolin into scopoletin from the extract of Erycibe obtusifolia Benth with a 47.8% increase of scopoletin. This demonstrated that the β-glucosidase An-bgl3 from A. niger shows specificity on scopolin with good activities, thus providing an alternative method for increasing the extraction efficiency of scopoletin from plant material.
Aspergillus niger/genetics* ; beta-Glucosidase/chemistry* ; Scopoletin ; Polysorbates ; Coumarins

Aspergillus niger is an important industrial strain which has been widely used for production of enzymes and organic acids. Genome modification of A. niger is required to further improve its potential for industrial production. CRISPR/Cas9 is a widely used genome editing technique for A. niger, but its application in industrial strains modification is hampered by the need for integration of a selection marker into the genome or low gene editing efficiency. Here we report a highly efficient marker-free genome editing method for A. niger based on CRISPR/Cas9 technique. Firstly, we constructed a co-expression plasmid of sgRNA and Cas9 with a replication initiation region fragment AMA1 (autonomously maintained in Aspergillus) by using 5S rRNA promoter which improved sgRNA expression. Meanwhile, a strain deficient in non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) was developed by knocking out the kusA gene. Finally, we took advantage of the instability of plasmid containing AMA1 fragment to cure the co-expression plasmid containing sgRNA and Cas9 through passaging on non-selective plate. With this method, the efficiency of gene editing reached 100% when using maker-free donor DNA with a short homologous arm of 20 bp. This method may facilitate investigation of gene functions and construction of cell factories for A. niger.
Gene Editing ; Aspergillus niger/genetics* ; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics* ; Plasmids/genetics*

The glucoamylase gene (glaA) of Aspergillus niger CICIM F0410 was cloned, sequenced and expressed. The integrated plasmid pBC-Hygro-glaA carrying the glaA was constructed and transformed into A. niger F0410. Transformants with multiple copies of glaA integrated in the chromosome were selected by 150 microg/mL hygromycin B and identified by real-time PCR. Two to three multiples of glaA in the chromosome were found to be optimal for higher expression of glucoamylase. Shake-flask fermentation under optimal conditions showed that glucoamylase secreted by the transformant GB0506 was 17.5% higher than parental strain F0410 at the end of fermentation. In conclusion, increasing copy number of glaA by chromosomal integration significantly improves the yield of glucoamylase in the industrial strain of A. niger.
Aspergillus niger ; genetics ; Cloning, Molecular ; Glucan 1,4-alpha-Glucosidase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Plasmids ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis

Glucoamylase overproducing A. niger T21 was mutated by UV mutagensis. An extracellular acid protease-deficient mutant, A. niger T21-201, which produced only 0.76% extracellular acid protease activity of the parent strain, was screened by casein-degradating plate and determination of protease activity. Moreover, the growth properties and the ability to secrete glucoamylase of A. niger T21-201 are identical to these of starting strain T21. The comparison of expression-secretion levels of heterologous gene in A. niger T21-201 and T21 was carried out with bacterial vhb as reporter, the level of expression-secretion of VHb in A. niger T21-201 was 6-7 times higher than that in T21, but the transcriptional levels of vhb gene in both strains were similar revealed by Northern blot. Therefore, it was demonstrated that the deficiency of acid protease of recipient T21-201 has significant effect on the protection of heterologous protein.
Aspergillus niger ; enzymology ; genetics ; Glucan 1,4-alpha-Glucosidase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Mutation ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis

Aspergillus niger, as an important industrial fermentation strain, is widely applied in the production of organic acids and industrial enzymes. With the development of diverse omics technologies, the data of genome, transcriptome, proteome and metabolome of A. niger are increasing continuously, which declared the coming era of big data for the research in fermentation process of A. niger. The data analysis from single omics and the comparison of multi-omics, to the integrations of multi-omics based on the genome-scale metabolic network model largely extends the intensive and systematic understanding of the efficient production mechanism of A. niger. It also provides possibilities for the reasonable global optimization of strain performance by genetic modification and process regulation. We reviewed and summarized progress in omics research of A. niger, and proposed the development direction of omics research on this cell factory.
Aspergillus niger ; genetics ; Fermentation ; Genome, Fungal ; Metabolic Networks and Pathways ; Metabolome ; Proteome ; Transcriptome

Using the polymmerse chain reaction (PCR), we amplified the phytase gene phyA from Pichia pastoris GS115-phyA in Aspergillus niger NRRL3135 without the signal peptide sequence and intron sequence,. Then, it was cloned into pINA1297 vector to generate a recombinant vector of pINA1297-phyA. pINA1297-phyA was linearized and transformed into Yarrowia lipolytica po1h by the lithium acetate method. The positive transformants were obtained by YNB(casa) and PPB plates, after induced in YM medium at 28 degrees C for 6 day. The activity of the expressed phytase phyA reached 636.23 U/mL. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 130 kDa measured with SDS-PAGE analysis, whereas its molecular size reduced to 51 kDa after deglycosylation which is correspond with theoretical value. The enzymatic analysis of the recombinant phytase phyA revealed its optimal pH and temperature was 5.5 and 55 degrees C, which had high activity after incubated in pH ranged from 2.0 to 8.0 for 1 h. Moreover, its activity remained 86.08% after exposure to 90 degrees C for 10 min. It also was resistant to pepsin or trypsin treatment.
6-Phytase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Aspergillus niger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Pichia ; enzymology ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Yarrowia ; genetics ; metabolism

Aspergillus niger is a vital industrial workhouse widely used for the production of organic acids and industrial enzymes. This fungus is a crucial cell factory due to its innate tolerance to a diverse range of abiotic conditions, high production titres, robust growth during industrial scale fermentation, and status as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) organism. Rapid development of synthetic biology and systems biology not only offer powerful approaches to unveil the molecular mechanisms of A. niger productivity, but also provide more new strategies to construct and optimize the A. niger cell factory. As a new generation of genome editing technology, the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR associated (Cas) system brings a revolutionary breakthrough in targeted genome modification for A. niger. In this review, we focus on current advances to the CRISPR/Cas genome editing toolbox, its application on gene modification and gene expression regulation in this fungal. Moreover, the future directions of CRISPR/Cas genome editing in A. niger are highlighted.
Aspergillus niger/genetics* ; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics* ; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/genetics* ; Gene Editing ; Genome

The hydrolysis of xylo-oligosaccharides catalyzed by β-xylosidase plays an important role in the degradation of lignocellulose. However, the enzyme is easily inhibited by its catalytic product xylose, which severely limits its application. Based on molecular docking, this paper studied the xylose affinity of Aspergillus niger β-xylosidase An-xyl, which was significantly differentially expressed in the fermentation medium of tea stalks, through cloning, expression and characterization. The synergistic degradation effect of this enzyme and cellulase on lignocellulose in tea stems was investigated. Molecular docking showed that the affinity of An-xyl to xylose was lower than that of Aspergillus oryzae β-xylosidase with poor xylose tolerance. The K_i value of xylose inhibition constant of recombinant-expressed An-xyl was 433.2 mmol/L, higher than that of most β-xylosidases of the GH3 family. The K_m and V_max towards pNPX were 3.6 mmol/L and 10 000 μmol/(min·mL), respectively. The optimum temperature of An-xyl was 65 ℃, the optimum pH was 4.0, 61% of the An-xyl activity could be retained upon treatment at 65 ℃ for 300 min, and 80% of the An-xyl activity could be retained upon treatment at pH 2.0-8.0 for 24 h. The hydrolysis of tea stem by An-xyl and cellulase produced 19.3% and 38.6% higher reducing sugar content at 2 h and 4 h, respectively, than that of using cellulase alone. This study showed that the An-xyl mined from differential expression exhibited high xylose tolerance and higher catalytic activity and stability, and could hydrolyze tea stem lignocellulose synergistically, which enriched the resource of β-xylosidase with high xylose tolerance, thus may facilitate the advanced experimental research and its application.
Aspergillus niger/genetics* ; Xylose/metabolism* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Xylosidases/genetics* ; Cellulases ; Tea ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Substrate Specificity

The monoamine oxidase mutant A-1 (F210V/L213C) from Aspergillus niger showed some catalytic activity on mexiletine. To futher improve its activity, the mutant was subjected to directed evolution with MegaWHOP PCR (Megaprimer PCR of Whole Plasmid) and selection employing a high-throughput agar plate-based colorimetric screen. This approach led to the identification of a mutant ep-1, which specific activity was 189% of that for A-1. The ep-1 also showed significantly improved enantioselectivity, with the E value increased from 101 to 282; its kinetic k(cat)/K(m) value increased from 0.001 51 mmol/(L x s) to 0.002 89 mmol/(L x s), suggesting that catalytic efficiency of ep-1 had been improved. The mutant showed obviously higher specific activities on 7 of all tested 11 amines substrates, and the others were comparable. Sequence analysis revealed that there was a new mutation T162A on ep-1. The molecular dynamics simulation indicated that T162A may affect the secondary structure of the substrate channel and expand the binding pocket.
Aspergillus niger ; enzymology ; Catalysis ; Kinetics ; Monoamine Oxidase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mutation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Protein Engineering ; Protein Structure, Secondary ; Substrate Specificity

It was expected that recombinant Aspergillus niger glucose oxidase could be expressed in Trichoderma reesei with stable activity. T. reesei CBHI promoter--CBHI ss. gene--A. niger glucose oxidase gene--T. reesei CBHI terminator--A. nidulans gpd promoter--E. coli Hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene--A. nidulans trpC terminator--pUC19 (pCBHGOD) vector was constructed in E. coli DH5alpha by PCR application and gene cloning methods. T. reesei QM9414 protoplast was transformed by T. reesei CBHI promoter-CBHI ss. Gene--A. niger glucose oxidase gene--T. reesei CBHI terminator-A. nidulans gpd promoter--E. coli Hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene--A. nidulans trpC terminator linear DNA fragment (CBHGOD fragment) that was made by digestion of pCBHGOD with Kpn I. T. reesei mutant clone with homologous recombinant A. niger glucose oxidase gene was selected by PCR method. Recombinant glucose oxidase was produced by mutant T. reesei strain under induction of wheat straw for 5 days. Recombinant glucose oxidase molecular mass was showed the same as native A. niger glucose oxidase standard from Sigma company by Western blot analysis. Recombinant glucose oxidase activity was 25u/mL in medium. The yield was 0.5 g/L in comparison with Sigma company glucose oxidase standard. There was no recombinant GOD degradation during Trichoderma reesei cultivation that was showed in Western blot analysis. Trichoderma reesei has capability to be a new recombinant host for Aspergillus niger GOD production.
Aspergillus niger ; enzymology ; genetics ; Cloning, Molecular ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Fungal Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Glucose Oxidase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Trichoderma ; genetics ; metabolism