title: Sulfonylurea resistance as a new selectable marker for the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana.
abstract: Beauveria bassiana is a filamentous ascomycete that is pathogenic towards a broad host range of insect targets and is increasingly serving as a model for examining fungal development and host-pathogen interactions. B. bassiana displays a prohibitive level of resistance against many current fungal and/or yeast selection markers including hygromycin, neomycin, and zeocin. A genetic transformation system for B. bassiana based upon the use of a sulfonylurea resistance cassette derived from the Magnaporthe grisea, acetolactate synthase gene (sur) was developed. The transformation frequency ranged from 100-150 transformants per microgram DNA/10(8) cells and Southern blot analysis indicated that the plasmid vector was randomly integrated into the genome of B. bassiana. In addition, a construct bearing the sur gene and the enhanced green fluorescent protein gene egfp as a visual marker was used to successfully transform B. bassiana. Over 95% of the transformants retained the sulfonylurea resistance phenotype under non-selective conditions. The described transformation method increases opportunities for the genetic manipulation of B. bassiana.
authors.affiliation: Genetic Engineering Research Center, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Shizhu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Yu Xian
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Nemat O
authors.initials: NO
authors.lastname: Keyhani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D052982:Beauveria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D026141:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Fungal; D009036:Moths / Q000382:microbiology; D013453:Sulfonylurea Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
chemical_list: D013453:Sulfonylurea Compounds