Fig. 8

Expression levels of major cellulase genes and cellulase activator genes. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the transcriptional levels of four major cellulase genes (A)—cbh1, cbh2, egl1, and egl2—and two crucial cellulase activator genes (B)—xyr1 and ace3. Conidia of T. reesei were inoculated into Mandels medium with Avicel as the sole carbon source. Sampling was done at 48 h. The data are normalized to expression of the parental strain RUT-C30 for each tested gene, with the sar1 gene used as an endogenous control in all samples. Values are represented means ± SD of the results from three independent experiments. Asterisks indicate significant differences compared to parental strain (*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01, Student’s t test)