The tyrosinase-encoding gene of Lentinula edodes, Letyr, is abundantly expressed in the gills of the fruit-body during post-harvest preservation.
The gill browning of Lentinula edodes fruit-bodies during preservation is thought to be due to melanin biosynthesis catalyzed by tyrosinase. We isolated a genomic DNA sequence and cDNA encoding a putative tyrosinase from the white rot basidiomycete Lentinula edodes (shiitake mushroom). The gene, named Letyr, consists of a 1,854-bp open reading frame interrupted by eight introns, and encodes a putative protein of 618 amino acid residues with an estimated molecular mass of 68 kDa. Amino acid residues known to be involved in copper-binding domains were conserved in the deduced amino acid residues of LeTyr. Transcriptional and translational expression of Letyr in the gills of the fruit-body increased during preservation after harvest. This correlation between Letyr expression and fruit-body preservation suggests that tyrosinase gene expression contributes to gill browning.
Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Iwate, Japan. tosisato@mail.kitami-it.ac.jp
Toshitsugu
T
Sato
Katsuhiro
K
Kanda
Kumiko
K
Okawa
Machiko
M
Takahashi
Hisayuki
H
Watanabe
Tatsuya
T
Hirano
Kaori
K
Yaegashi
Yuichi
Y
Sakamoto
Hirofumi
H
Uchimiya
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005519:Food Preservation; D048690:Fruiting Bodies, Fungal / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D020942:Shiitake Mushrooms / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*
D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase