Identification of the genes involved in growth characters of medicinal fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis based on Agrobacterium tumefaciens–mediated transformation

Ophiocordyceps sinensis, one of the well-known and precious fungal species in the world, parasitizes soil-dwelling larvae of ghost moths on the Tibetan Plateau. The genetic intractability of this extremely psychrophilic and slow-growing O. sinensis fungus is a major limitation on the molecular study. In this study, an Agrobacterium tumefaciens–mediated genetic transformation (ATMT) system for this fungus was established. ATMT procedure was optimized based on the fungal recipient, Agrobacterium strains, and different co-cultivation conditions. Blastospores were ideal recipients for this system. Acetosyringone (AS) was not essential for the transformation of O. sinensis. Sixty to 100 hygromycin B–resistant transformants per 1 × 106 blastospores were obtained. Southern blot analysis indicated the presence of a random single-copy integration of T-DNA into the O. sinensis genome. The insertional transformants with altered growth characters such as colony, blastospore, and fruiting body production were selected to identify the T-DNA flanking sequences by modified hiTAIL-PCR and FPNI-PCR techniques. Eight genes, including genes for an MFS transporter, a 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, a DNA-directed RNA polymerase III complex subunit Rpc37, a cytochrome oxidase subunit I, a mitochondrial import inner membrane translocase subunit tim54, a cytidine deaminase, a phosphoribosylaminoimidazole carboxylase, and a histone H3-like centromeric protein cse-4 were identified. This ATMT system provides a useful tool for gene discovery and characterization of O. sinensis and contributes to the better understanding of the mysterious life cycle of O. sinensis and the molecular interaction between this fungus and its host insects.