Cloning, expression and phylogenetic analysis of a divergent laccase multigene family in Auricularia auricula-judae

Laccases (p-diphenol: oxygen oxidoreductase; EC 1.10.3.2) are multi-copper oxidases encoded by gene family in white rot fungi. Auricularia auricula-judae is one kind of white rot fungi with a soft, jelly-like texture and an ear-like shape. In the present study, seven laccase genes containing the signature sequences L1–L4 were isolated from A. auricula-judae strain Au916 on the basis of the mycelium-derived transcriptome. In the basidiomycetes, the predicted substrate binding loops of the A. auricula-judae laccases were found to be uncommon. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the laccases of the Auricularia were nested into the ascomycete laccases, indicating that the laccase genes from Auricularia are distinctly different in function from other basidiomycetes. Among the seven laccases, the intron positions and cluster distributions in the NJ tree varied from each other and the expression patterns of seven genes estimated by qRT-PCR were also discrepant. The lcc3 gene was highly expressed not only in the free-living mycelium but also in substrate mycelium, furthermore, the lcc5 gene was mostly expressed during the fruiting body formation and maturation indicating that lcc5 might play a major role during the sexual reproduction stage.