An improved transformation vector for the lignin-degrading white rot basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium

In this study, a lignin peroxidase-encoding gene (LIP) of Phanerochaete chrysosporium was disrupted by inserting into its coding region the kanamycin-resistance determinant from Tn903. The resulting recombinant plasmid, pUGLG1: kan, was transformed into P. chrysosporium with the expectation that the disrupted gene might replace the homologous LIP gene in the chromosome. However, the results showed that pUGLG1: kan sequences do not integrate into the chromosome; instead, the plasmid is maintained intact in the transformants in an extrachromosomal state. Our data also show that pUGLG1: kan undergoes replication in P. chrysosporium, is maintained as a circular element, is recoverable from meiotic and mitotic progeny, although at a low frequency, and can be recovered intact by Escherichia coli transformation. These results suggest that the GLG1 component of pUGLG1: kan contains as yet unidentified sequences that allow its autonomous replication in P. chrysosporium transformants.