Identification of differentially expressed genes involved in laccase production in tropical white-rot fungus Polyporus sp PG15

Carbon sources and copper ion are the main influencing factors on the production of fungal laccase. To investigate the regulation of carbon source and copper ion in laccase production on the molecular level in tropical white-rot fungus PG15, a comparative analysis of gene expression patterns was performed by cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique. Selective amplifications with 120 primer combinations allowed the identification of 92 differentially expressed transcript-derived fragments (TDFs), ranging from 200 to 750bp in size. The TDFs were from PG15 supplemented with different carbon sources and copper ion concentrations, majority of which downregulated laccase production. Twenty-one fragments that matched the database were functionally annotated and analyzed according to the up- and downregulation patterns identified by cDNA-AFLP. These fragments were probably involved in laccase production at the metabolism, signal transduction, transcription, or post-translation levels. This study provides the first catalog of genes involved in laccase production, together with their putatively functional annotations. These data provide potential candidates for improving laccase production in fungi by marker-assisted selection or genetic engineering.