Sulfonylurea resistance as a new selectable marker for the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana.
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.
Zhang
Shizhu
S
Genetic Engineering Research Center, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
Fan
Yanhua
Y
Xia
Yu Xian
YX
Keyhani
Nemat O
NO
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
D013453:Sulfonylurea Compounds