Fungus, decoded

Credit: Courtesy of Fungal Biodiversity Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands" /> Credit: Courtesy of Fungal Biodiversity Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands The paper: H.J. Pel et al., "Genome sequencing and analysis of the versatile cell factory Aspergillus niger CBS 513.88," Nat Biotechnol, 25:221-31, 2007. (Cited in 65 papers) The gist: Hein Stam and colleagues at DSM Food Sciences in The Neth

Written byBob Grant

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H.J. Pel et al., "Genome sequencing and analysis of the versatile cell factory Aspergillus niger CBS 513.88," Nat Biotechnol, 25:221-31, 2007. (Cited in 65 papers)

Hein Stam and colleagues at DSM Food Sciences in The Netherlands sequenced the genome of Aspergillus niger CBS 513.88, a fungus used to commercially produce a wide variety of enzymes and organic acids. The team assembled a detailed metabolic network consisting of more than 1,000 unique biochemical reactions, and predicted the functions of more than 6,000 putative genes.

Sequencing A. niger's genome "opened up a black box," says Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Scott Baker, who was not an author on the Hot Paper. He adds that the work identifies genes and gene products, such as transcription factors, regulatory factors, and secondary metabolites that affect the production of commercial enzymes used in everything from bread and beer making to paper production.

Study first author Herman Pel ...

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Bob Grant
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From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
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