Cloning of le-pyrG, an orotidine-5′-monophosphate decarboxylase encoding gene from Lentinula edodes.

Le-pyrG, the gene encoding orotidine-5’-monophosphate decarboxylase (OMPDC) in Lentinula edodes, was cloned by combining the methods of nested PCR and chromosome walking. Le-pyrG is 946 bp in size, contains two introns of 67 bp and 51 bp, and the deduced protein sequence consist of 275 amino acids. Alignment analysis revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence encoded by le-pyrG exhibited 73% and 70% identity, and 84% and 83% positivity, with OMPDC enzymes reported in Schizophyllum commune and Coprinus cinereus, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the cloning of a complete pyrG gene sequence from a cultivated edible fungus.