Characterization of a cDNA encoding a manganese peroxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium: genomic organization of lignin and manganese peroxidase-encoding genes

Two heme proteins, manganese peroxidase (MnP) and lignin peroxidase (LiP), play key roles in the fungal depolymerization of lignin. Many cDNA and genomic clones encoding these peroxidases have been published. We report here on the cDNA λMP-2 encoding the MnP isozyme H3 from Phanerochaete chrysosporium strain BKM-F-1767. We also demonstrate that the MnP-encoding gene, λMP-1, encoding isozyme H4, and λMP-2 reside on separate chromosomes from each other and from the LiP-encoding genes. From these results, it is apparent that λMP-2 is not linked to λMP-1 or other genes believed to be involved in lignin depolymerization, such as the LiP and glyoxal oxidase.