Efficient production of Taka-amylase A by Trichoderma viride

An efficient heterologous protein production system was developed in Trichoderma viride, a very efficient cellulase producer. An expression vector containing the Taka-amylase A gene from Aspergillus oryzae, which was fused to the strong promoter and signal peptide sequence of the cellobiohydrolase 1 gene (cbh1) of T. viride, and the hygromycin B resistance gene was used to transform protoplasts of T. viride. Using hygromycin B resistance, a frequency of 3 transformants per microgram DNA on average was obtained. One transformant showed highly elevated alpha-amylase production, 1.0 g/l, which was shown to be under the control of the cbh1 gene promoter. Analysis of the chromosomal DNA of the transformant showed the integration of more than one copy of the vector.