Industrial mycology and the new genetics

Summary The genetic investigation of fungi has been extended substantially by DNA-mediated transformation, providing a supplement to more conventional genetic approaches based upon sexual and parasexual processes. Initial transformation studies with the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae provided the model for transformation systems in other fungi with regard to methodology, vector construction and selection strategies. There are, however, certain differences betweenS. cerevisiae and filamentous fungi with regard to type of genomic insertion and the availability of shuttle vectors. Single-site linked insertions are common in yeast due to the high level of homology required for recombination between vectored and genomic sequences, whereas mycelial fungi often show a high frequency of heterologous and unlinked insertions, often in the form of random and multiple-site integrations. While extrachromosomally-maintained or replicative vectors are readily available for use with yeasts, such vectors have been difficult to construct for use with filamentous fungi. The development of vectors for replicative transformation with these fungi awaits further study. It is proposed that replicative vectors may be inherently less efficient for use with mycelial fungi relative to yeasts, since the mycelium, as an extended and semicontinuous network of cells, may delimit an adequate diffusion of the vector carrying the selectable gene, thus leading to a high frequency of abortive or unstable transformants.Based on the Charles Thom Award Lecture presented to the Society for Industrial Microbiology on August 4, 1994.