Overexpression of the Aspergillus niger GatA transporter leads to preferential use of D-galacturonic acid over D-xylose

Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide of the primary cell walls of plants and as such is a significant fraction of agricultural waste residues that is currently insufficiently used. Its main component, D-galacturonic acid, is an attractive substrate for bioconversion. The complete metabolic pathway is present in the genome of Aspergillus niger, that is used in this study. The objective was to identify the D-galacturonic acid transporter in A. niger and to use this transporter to study D-galacturonic acid metabolism. We have functionally characterized the gene An14g04280 that encodes the D-galacturonic acid transporter in A. niger. In a mixed sugar fermentation it was found that the An14g04280 overexpression strain, in contrast to the parent control strain, has a preference for D-galacturonic acid over D-xylose as substrate. Overexpression of this transporter in A. niger resulted in a strong increase of D-galacturonic acid uptake and induction of the D-galacturonic acid reductase activity, suggesting a metabolite controlled regulation of the endogenous D-galacturonic acid catabolic pathway.