Identification of the Main Regulator Responsible for Synthesis of the Typical Yellow Pigment Produced by Trichoderma reesei

The industrially used ascomycete Trichoderma reesei secretes a typical yellow pigment during cultivation, while other Trichoderma species do not. A comparative genomic analysis suggested that a putative secondary metabolism cluster, containing two polyketide-synthase encoding genes, is responsible for the yellow pigment synthesis. This cluster is conserved in a set of rather distantly related fungi, including Acremonium chrysogenum and Penicillium chrysogenum In an attempt to silence the cluster in T. reesei, two genes of the cluster encoding transcription factors were individually deleted. For a complete genetic proof-of-function, the genes were reinserted into the genomes of the respective deletion strains. The deletion of the first transcription factor (termed yellow pigment regulator 1 [Ypr1]) resulted in the full abolishment of the yellow pigment formation and the expression of most genes of this cluster. A comparative high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of supernatants of the ypr1 deletion and its parent strain suggested the presence of several yellow compounds in T. reesei that are all derived from the same cluster. A subsequent gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis strongly indicated the presence of sorbicillin in the major HPLC peak. The presence of the second transcription factor, termed yellow pigment regulator 2 (Ypr2), reduces the yellow pigment formation and the expression of most cluster genes, including the gene encoding the activator Ypr1.