Array CGH data of A. oryzae strains bearing targeted tandem chromosomal duplications

We here describe the first successful construction of a targeted tandem duplication of a large chromosomal segment in Aspergillus oryzae. The targeted tandem chromosomal duplication was achieved by using strains that had 5’ΔpyrG upstream of the region targeted for tandem chromosomal duplication and 3’ΔpyrG downstream of the target region. Consequently, strains bearing a 210-kb targeted tandem chromosomal duplication near the centromeric region of chromosome 8 and strains bearing a targeted tandem chromosomal duplication of a 700-kb region of chromosome 2 were successfully constructed. The strains bearing the tandem chromosomal duplication were efficiently obtained from the regenerated protoplast of the parental strains. However, the generation of the chromosomal duplication did not depend on the introduction of double-stranded breaks (DSBs) by I-SceI. The chromosomal duplications of these strains were stably maintained after five generations of culture under non-selective conditions. The strains bearing the tandem chromosomal duplication in the 700-kb region of chromosome 2 showed highly increased protease activity in solid-state culture, indicating that the duplication of large chromosomal segments could be a useful new breeding technology and gene analysis method. A. oryzae strain bearing a 210-kb targeted tandem chromosomal duplication, A. oryzae strain bearing a 700-kb targeted tandem chromosomal duplication, and A. oryzae RIB40 (wild type strain), were cultivated in Polypeptone-dextrin medium. After 3 days cultivation, genomic DNAs from the samples were extracted, and array CGH analysis was carried out to confirm the chromosomal duplications in the strains.