Home • Ascocoryne sarcoides NRRL50072
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Ascocoryne sarcoides. Photo by Daniel Spakowicz

The genome sequence and gene predictions of Ascocoryne sarcoides were not determined by the JGI, but were provided by Daniel Spakowicz ([email protected]) and have been published (Gianoulis et al., 2012). Please note that this copy of the genome is not maintained by the author and is therefore not automatically updated.

This isolate has been observed to produce a series of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with a suggested application as biofuels. This fungus was isolated in 2003 as an endophyte of Eucryphia cordifolia in Chilean Northern Patagonia (Stinson et al., 2003). It was observed to produce VOCs, notably 8-annulene, that inhibited the growth of a variety of test fungi and oomycetes. In 2008 its VOC profile was revisited and a different suite of molecules were observed, including a series of gasoline-like branched and straight-chain alkanes, alkenes and alcohols. In addition, many of these molecules were observed when the fungus was grown on a medium containing cellulose as the sole carbon source, leading to the speculation that this organism could be used to convert waste biomass to fuel (Strobel et al., 2008). In 2010 an analysis of isolate NRRL50072 and ten closely-related, publicly available isolates refined the taxonomy of NRRL50072 to Ascocoryne sarcoides (Griffin et al., 2010). In addition, the series of molecules produced by NRRL50072 was amended to exclude many of the branched-chain alkanes. The 2012 genome analysis characterized the cellulose degradation genes and predicted that the eight-carbon alcohol and alkene VOCs were produced via the catabolism of linoleic acid, due to a correlation with the expression of genes in that pathway (Gianoulis et al., 2012).

 

Genome Reference(s)

References

  • Griffin, M.A., Spakowicz, D.J., Gianoulis, T.A., and Strobel, S.A. (2010). Volatile organic compound production by organisms in the genus Ascocoryne and a re-evaluation of myco-diesel production by NRRL 50072. Microbiology 156, 3814.
  • Stinson, M., Ezra, D., Hess, W.M., Sears, J., and Strobel, G. (2003). An endophytic Gliocladium sp. of Eucryphia cordifolia producing selective volatile antimicrobial compounds. Plant Sci. 165, 913-922.
  • Strobel, G.A., Knighton, B., Kluck, K., Ren, Y., Livinghouse, T., Griffin, M., Spakowicz, D., and Sears, J. (2008). The production of myco-diesel hydrocarbons and their derivatives by the endophytic fungus Gliocladium roseum (NRRL 50072). Microbiology 154, 3319-3328.