The Post-genomic Era of Trichoderma reesei: What's Next?

The ascomycete Trichoderma reesei is one of the most well studied cellulolytic microorganisms. This fungus is widely used in the biotechnology industry, mainly in the production of biofuels. Due to its importance, its genome was sequenced in 2008, opening new avenues to study this microorganism. In this 'post-genomic' era, a transcriptomic and proteomic era has emerged. Here, we present an overview of new findings in the gene expression regulation network of T. reesei. We also discuss new rational strategies to obtain mutants that produce hydrolytic enzymes with a higher yield, using metabolic engineering. Finally, we present how synthetic biology strategies can be used to create engineered promoters to efficiently synthesize enzymes for biomass degradation to produce bioethanol.