We classified the genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) in 17 sequenced genomes representing 16 evolutionarily diverse Aspergillus species. We performed a phylogenetic analysis of the encoding enzymes, along with experimentally characterized CAZymes, to assign molecular function to the Aspergilli CAZyme families and subfamilies. Genome content analysis revealed that the numbers of CAZy genes per CAZy family related to plant biomass degradation follow closely the taxonomic distance between the species. On the other hand, growth analysis showed almost no correlation between the number of CAZyme genes and the efficiency in polysaccharide utilization. The exception is A. clavatus where a reduced number of pectinolytic enzymes can be correlated with poor growth on pectin. To gain detailed information on the enzymes used by Aspergilli to breakdown complex biomass, we conducted exoproteome analysis by mass spectrometry. These results showed that Aspergilli produce many different enzymes mixtures in the presence of sugar beet pulp and wheat bran. Despite the diverse enzyme mixtures produced, species of section Nigri, A. aculeatus, A. nidulans and A. terreus, produce mixtures of enzymes with activities that are capable of digesting all the major polysaccharides in the available substrates, suggesting that they are capable of degrading all the polysaccharides present simultaneously. For the other Aspergilli, typically the enzymes produced are targeted to a subset of polysaccharides present, suggesting that they can digest only a subset of polysaccharides at a given time.

我们将编码碳水化合物活性酶 (CAZymes) 的基因分类到 17 个测序基因组中，代表 16 个进化上不同的曲霉属物种。我们对编码酶以及实验表征的 CAZymes 进行了系统发育分析，以将分子功能分配给曲霉 CAZyme 家族和亚家族。基因组内容分析表明，与植物生物量降解相关的每个 CAZy 家族的 CAZy 基因数量与物种之间的分类距离密切相关。另一方面，生长分析显示CAZyme基因的数量与多糖利用效率之间几乎没有相关性。棒棒糖例外，其果胶分解酶数量减少可能与果胶生长不良有关。为了获得曲霉分解复杂生物量所用酶的详细信息，我们通过质谱法进行了外蛋白质组分析。这些结果表明，曲霉在甜菜浆和麦麸存在的情况下产生许多不同的酶混合物。尽管产生了多种酶混合物，但Nigri、A. aculeatus、A. nidulans和A. terreus的物种产生的酶混合物具有能够消化可用底物中所有主要多糖的活性，这表明它们能够同时降解所有存在的多糖。对于其他曲霉，通常产生的酶针对存在的多糖子集，这表明它们在给定时间只能消化多糖子集。