Molecular cloning of a new laccase from the edible straw mushroom Volvariella volvacea:: possible involvement in fruit body development

Cloning of a laccase-encoding cDNA from the edible straw mushroom, Volvariella volvacea, was performed using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The cDNA of the putative laccase gene (lac4) consisted of 1689 bp, including an open reading frame encoding a 23-amino acid signal peptide at the N-terminal end and a 540-amino acid mature protein with a predicted molecular mass of 58 173 Da and a pI value of 6.1. The 10 histidine residues and one cysteine residue required to co-ordinate the four copper atoms at the active site of the protein were all conserved. The amino acid sequence of V. volvacea lac4 has a high degree of identity with other basidiomycete laccases. Transcription of the laccase gene was analysed by RT-PCR and, unlike many other laccase genes, shown to be regulated independently of either copper or aromatic compounds under the test conditions. However, the laccase gene is strongly expressed during that part of the mushroom developmental cycle involving fruit body morphogenesis. (C) 2003 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.