Development of an efficient gene targeting system in Colletotrichum higginsianum using a non-homologous end-joining mutant and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer.

The hemibiotrophic ascomycete Colletotrichum higginsianum is the casual agent of anthracnose disease of cruciferous plants. High efficiency transformation by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer has been established for this fungus. However, targeted gene mutagenesis through homologous recombination rarely occurs in C.