Home • Trametes ljubarskyi CIRM-BRFM 1659 v1.0
Trametes ljubarskyi grown on wheat straw. Picture by Isabelle Herpoel-Gimbert.
Trametes ljubarskyi grown on wheat straw. Picture by Isabelle Herpoel-Gimbert.

This genome was sequenced as part of the JGI CSP “Survey of the lignocellulolytic capabilities over the order Polyporales” project. Within Agaricomycotina, the order Polyporales is the major group of wood decayers in temperate and tropical forests. As such, Polyporales have a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. Lignocellulose is the principal carbon storage on the emerged land. Lignin degradation by white-rot fungi provides access to the polysaccharides that can thereby be used as a source of carbon or energy by other microorganisms. On the contrary, brown-rot fungi leave behind inert residual lignin and participate to carbon long-term storage in soils.

Because they are able to totally degrade lignin from wood, white-rot filamentous fungi have a high potential for biotechnological processes, particularly for lignocellulosic feedstock biorefinery applications. Lignocellulose is a high potential renewable resource for the production of biofuels and chemicals, including high-value chemicals, from biomass. Notably, complex raw materials from different origins (dedicated crops, agricultural wastes, silviculture, etc.) that do not compete with food production constitute new sources of sugars that can be fermented for production of bioethanol.

Beyond research on lignocellulose modifying enzymes amenable to biotechnological applications, the genomic survey of Polyporales provides data for comparative genomics and research on fungal biology, fungus adaptation to the environment (e.g. temperate vs. tropical strains), plant-fungus interactions (e.g. saprotrophs vs. symbionts) and for phylogenomics investigations.

Trametes ljubarskyi belongs to a yet poorly explored clade inside the core polyporoids of Polyporales. In Europe, this white-rot fungus is found from Portugal to Serbia and east to Caspian sea in Russia. It has been found on dead wood of Acacia, Caprinus, Prunus, Quercus and Pinus. It is characterized by relatively short and wide spores that are unique in the European representatives of the genus. The genome sequencing for Trametes ljubarskyi will allow exploration for novel biocatalysts and deepen our understanding on the functional diversity among Polyporales, i.e. enzymatic capabilities linked to plant cell wall modifications.

Genome Reference(s)