Aspergilli: Models for systems biology in filamentous fungi

Aspergillus is a diverse genus of filamentous fungi including common house hold mold as well as human pathogens. More than 350 species are currently part of this genus and all their genomes are soon to be sequenced. The availability of this vast amount of data will allow for more in-depth understanding of genetic traits governing desirable properties like enzyme production as well as the pathogenic potency of the organisms. In this review we give an overview of the systems biology research conducted in Aspergilli. This research has covered omics technologies like genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics where outstanding contributions are highlighted. From past developments it becomes apparent that CRISPR technology will speed up genetic research in the Aspergillus field. This speed up will allow for an increase in systems biology targeted research by accelerating data generation. The increase in throughput of data generation both per experiment and per time will lead to future challenges in the data handling, integration and interpretation.