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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #69033
Title: METABOLIC ENGINEERING OF TRICHOTHECENE-PRODUCING FUSARIUM

Author
item Jones, James
item Hohn, Thomas
item Leathers, Timothy

Submitted to: Society of Industrial Microbiology Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/4/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The filamentous fungus Fusarium sporotrichioides utilizes significant amounts of isoprenoid pathway carbon flow for the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoid toxins (trichothecenes). A trichothecene-deficient mutant of Fusarium sporotrichioides (Tri5) was generated by gene disruption of trichodiene synthase (Tri5), the enzyme catalyzing the first committed step of trichothecene biosynthesis. Efforts are underway to determine if isoprenoid precursors formerly channeled into trichothecene biosynthesis can be utilized to synthesize commercially valuable secondary metabolites. As Tri5 exhibits resistance to the antibiotics hygromycin B, bialaphos, and phleomycin, an alternate transformation method was developed using the Aspergillus nidulans amdS gene as a selectable marker, with transformants selected on the basis of acetamide utilization. Transformation frequencies of 10-20 transformants per ug DNA per 1 x 10**6 protoplasts were obtained, comparable to frequencies observed in other filamentous fungi using this selection procedure.