Improvement of ethanol production by recombinant expression of pyruvate decarboxylase in the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete sordida YK-624.

To improve ethanol production by Phanerochaete sordida YK-624, the pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) gene was cloned from and reintroduced into this hyper lignin-degrading fungus; the gene encodes a key enzyme in alcoholic fermentation. We screened 16 transformant P. sordida YK-624 strains that each expressed a second, recombinant PDC gene (pdc) and then identified the transformant strain (designated GP7) with the highest ethanol production. Direct ethanol production from hardwood was 1.41 higher with GP7 than with wild-type P. sordida YK-624. RT-PCR analysis indicated that the increased PDC activity was caused by elevated recombinant pdc expression. Taken together, these results suggested that ethanol production by P. sordida YK-624 can be improved by the stable expression of an additional, recombinant pdc.