Thermoascus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Thermoascus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Eurotiomycetes |
| Order: | Eurotiales |
| Family: | Thermoascaceae |
| Genus: | Thermoascus Bainier (1907) |
| Type species | |
| Thermoascus aurantiacus Miehe (1907) | |
| Species | |
|
T. aegyptiacus | |
Thermoascus is a genus of soil fungi in the family Trichocomaceae. Species in the genus are characterized by the production of heat-resistant ascospores. Thermoascus was circumscribed by German botanist Hugo Miehe in 1907.[1]
The type species, Thermoascus aurantiacus, is of research interest because it secretes heat-resistant hydrolase enzymes that could possibly be used in biotechnological applications, such as the conversion of biomass to biofuels.[2] Genetic tools have been developed to genetically edit Thermoascus aurantiacus, such as an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation protocol and a CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system, which have been used to overexpress genes that correspond to production of enzymes that break down plant matter and inactivate genes.[3]
