Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation ofMucor circinelloides

TheAgrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of the zygomycetous fungusMucor circinelloides is described. A method was also developed for the hygromycin B-based selection ofMucor transformants. Transformation with the hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene ofEscherichia coli controlled by the heterologousAspergillus nidulans trpC promoter resulted in hygromycin B-resistant clones. The presence of the hygromycin resistance gene in the genome of the transformants was verified by polymerase chain reaction and Southern hybridization: the latter analyses revealed integrations in the host genome at different sites in different transformants. The stability of transformants remained questionable during the latter analyses.