Intracellular kynurenine promotes acetaldehyde accumulation, further inducing the apoptosis in soil beneficial fungi Trichoderma guizhouense NJAU4742 under acid stress

Abstract In this study, the growth of fungi Trichoderma guizhouense NJAU4742 was significantly inhibited under acid stress, and the genes related to acid stress were identified based on transcriptome analysis. Four genes including tna 1, adh 2/4, and bna 3 were significantly up‐regulated. Meanwhile, intracellular hydrogen ions accumulated under acid stress, and ATP synthesis was induced to transport hydrogen ions to maintain hydrogen ion balance. The enhancement of glycolysis pathway was also detected, and a large amount of pyruvic acid from glycolysis was accumulated due to the activity limitation of PDH enzymes. Finally, acetaldehyde accumulated, resulting in the induction of adh 2/4. In order to cope with stress caused by acetaldehyde, cells enhanced the synthesis of NAD + by increasing the expression of tna 1 and bna 3 genes. NAD + effectively improved the antioxidant capacity of cells, but the NAD + supplement pathway mediated by bna 3 could also cause the accumulation of kynurenine (KYN), which was an inducer of apoptosis. In addition, KYN had a specific promoting effect on acetaldehyde synthesis by improving the expression of eno 2 gene, which led to the extremely high intracellular acetaldehyde in the cell under acidic stress. Our findings provided a route to better understand the response of filamentous fungi under acid stress.