RNA-Mediated Gene Silencing in Monokaryons and Dikaryons of Schizophyllum commune
ABSTRACT
Disruption of genes by homologous recombination occurs at a low frequency in the basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune. For instance, the SC3 and SC15 genes were inactivated at frequencies of 1 and 5%, respectively. As an alternative to disruption, we used gene silencing through the introduction of a hairpin construct. The SC15 gene, which encodes an abundantly secreted structural protein, was silenced at a frequency of 80% in monokaryons of S. commune after introduction of a hairpin construct of the gene. Silencing also occurred in dikaryons in which one of the partners was not a silenced strain. The silencing mechanism resembles RNAi in other filamentous fungi and is a powerful tool for the functional analysis of genes expressed in monokaryons or dikaryons.
FOOTNOTES
- Received 6 July 2005.
- Accepted 29 November 2005.
- ↵*Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbiology, Institute of Biomembranes, University of Utrecht, Padualaan 8, NL-3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands. Phone: (31) 30 2533016. Fax: (31) 30 2513655. E-mail: l.g.lugones{at}bio.uu.nl.
- American Society for Microbiology
