Transformation of Endomyces fibuliger based on its gene for orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase

Endomyces fibuliger is a yeast used in the production of Chinese rice wine. It secretes enzymes such as glucoamylase, alpha-amylase and acid protease. Very little is known of the genetics of E. fibuliger. In order to develop a transformation system for this yeast, orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase mutant strains were obtained and characterized. Transformation of the E. fibuliger ura3 mutant F1 with an integrative plasmid that carried the wild-type URA3 gene of E. fibuliger gave complementation of this mutation. The E. fibuliger gene encodes the orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase enzyme consisting of 266 amino acid residues with a 69.4% sequence identity with orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our finding that E. fibuliger URA3 complements the ura3 mutation in S. cerevisiae confirms that the URA3 gene of E. fibuliger encodes a protein that exerts a similar function.