DIRECTED MUTAGENESIS IN AN ASPOROGENOUS METHYLOTROPHIC YEAST - CLONING, SEQUENCING, AND ONE-STEP GENE DISRUPTION OF THE 3-ISOPROPYLMALATE DEHYDROGENASE GENE (LEU2) OF CANDIDA-BOIDINII TO DERIVE DOUBLY AUXOTROPHIC MARKER STRAINS

A model system for one-step gene disruption for an asporogenous methylotrophic yeast, Candida boidinii, is described. In this system, the 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase gene (C boidinii LEU2) was selected as the target gene for disruption to derive new host strains for transformation. First, the C boidinii LEU2 gene was cloned, and its complete nucleotide sequence was determined. Next, the LEU2 disruption vectors, which had the C boidinii URA3 gene as the selectable marker, were constructed. Of the Ura+ transformants obtained with these plasmids, more than half showed a Leu- phenotype. Finally, the double-marker strains of C boidinii were derived. When vectors with repeated flanking sequences of the C. boidinii URA3 gene were used for gene disruption, Leu- Ura+ transformants changed spontaneously to a Leu- Ura- phenotype ca. 100 times more frequently than they did when plasmids without the repeated sequences were used. Southern analysis showed that these events included a one-step gene disruption and a subsequent popping out of the C boidinii URA3 sequence from the transformant chromosome.