Improvement of ethanol production by recombinant expression of pyruvate decarboxylase in the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete sordida YK-624

•Recombinant PDC gene was stably expressed by GP7.•PDC gene expression of GP7 improved PDC productivity and ethanol production.•The direct production of ethanol from wood was improved by using GP7.

To improve ethanol production by Phanerochaete sordida YK-624, the pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) gene was cloned from and reintroduced into this hyper lignin-degrading fungus; the gene encodes a key enzyme in alcoholic fermentation. We screened 16 transformant P. sordida YK-624 strains that each expressed a second, recombinant PDC gene (pdc) and then identified the transformant strain (designated GP7) with the highest ethanol production. Direct ethanol production from hardwood was 1.41 higher with GP7 than with wild-type P. sordida YK-624. RT-PCR analysis indicated that the increased PDC activity was caused by elevated recombinant pdc expression. Taken together, these results suggested that ethanol production by P. sordida YK-624 can be improved by the stable expression of an additional, recombinant pdc.