Molecular Cloning of Functional Genes for High Growth-Temperature and Salt Tolerance of the Basidiomycete Fomitopsis pinicola Isolated in a Mangrove Forest in Micronesia

Abstract

Several functional genes encoding putative proteins, heat shock protein 70, sphingosine phosphate lyase, and Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter, were cloned from the basidiomycete Fomitopsis pinicola, a wood-rotting fungus isolated in the tropical mangrove forest of Pohnpei Island of the Federated States of Micronesia. The deduced amino acid sequences of the obtained genes involved in heat shock resistance, lipid synthesis, and salt tolerance showed diverse similarities to other homologous proteins. Molecular phylogenetic trees of these proteins suggested that encoded proteins of the cloned genes of F. pinicola differed remarkably from other homologs in various organisms, even fungal proteins. Putative candidates for other genes related to several cellular metabolisms were also amplified, implying the possible existence of those genes in F. pinicola. This is the first report of possibly functional genes derived from a basidiomycetous mushroom growing in tropical islands such as Micronesia. The genes found in this study might play important roles in the cellular survival of the basidiomycete F. pinicola under severe environmental conditions.