Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy enables multiscale spatial visualization of ions involved in fungal lignocellulose deconstruction

Journal Article · Tue Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41798· OSTI ID:1343413

Kirker, Grant ^[1]; Zelinka, Sam ^[1]; Gleber, Sophie -Charlotte ^[2]; Vine, David ^[2]; Finney, Lydia ^[2]; Chen, Si ^[2]; Hong, Young Pyo ^[3]; Uyarte, Omar ^[4]; Vogt, Stefan ^[2]; Jellison, Jody ^[5]; Goodell, Barry ^[5]; Jakes, Joseph E. ^[1]

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1. USDA Forest Service, Madison, WI (United States)
2. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
3. Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
4. Univ. de Sao Paulo (Brazil)
5. Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)

Ions play an important role in the growth and development of filamentous fungi, particularly in the fungal decay process of lignocellulose materials. The role of ions in wood degradation, and more broadly fungal metabolism, have implications for diverse research disciplines ranging from plant pathology and forest ecology, to wood protection. Despite the importance of ions in both enzymatic and non-enzymatic fungal decay mechanisms, the spatial distribution of ions in wood and fungal hyphae during decay is not known. Here we employ synchrotron based X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) to map physiologically relevant ions, such as K, Ca, Mn, Fe, and Zn, in wood being decayed by the model brown rot fungus Serpula lacrymans. Two-dimensional XFM maps were obtained to study the ion spatial distributions from mm to submicron length scales in wood and hyphae. Three-dimensional ion volume reconstructions with submicron spatial resolution were also acquired of wood cell walls and fungal hyphae, and an estimation of oxalate concentration at the microscale was made. Results show that the fungus actively transports some ions, such as Fe, into the wood and controls the distribution of ions at both the bulk wood and cellular length scales. Within the fungal hyphae, ion volume reconstructions show inhomogeneous ion distributions at the micron length scale and this localization may be indicative of both physiological status and requirements or in some cases, potentially sites associated with the initiation of metal-catalyzed wood degradation. Finally, these measurements illustrate how synchrotron based XFM is uniquely qualified for probing the role of ions in the growth and metabolic processes of filamentous fungi.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); FAPESP Foundation
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1343413
• Journal Information: Scientific Reports, Vol. 7; ISSN 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Brown rot fungi
X-ray fluorescence microscopy
tomography
wood decay