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Techniques

Transformation of Filamentous Fungi with Plasmid DNA by Electroporation. M. G. Richey, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546; E. T. Marek, C. L. Schardl, and D. A. Smith. Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546. Phytopathology 79:844-847. Accepted for publication 23 March 1989. Copyright 1989 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-79-844.

We investigated the use of high-voltage electric pulse to transform Fusarium solani and Aspergillus nidulans with DNA. This method involved exposure of fungal protoplasts, in the presence of vector DNA, to a high-amplitude exponential-decay electric pulse of short duration (up to 123 msec) delivered from a Gene Pulser apparatus. The effects of pulse amplitude and duration on transformation frequency and cell viability were evaluated. The optimal transformation is rapid, simple to perform, and avoids the use of toxic chemicals. It may also provide an alternative method of introducing foreign DNA into fungi that cannot be transformed by traditional methods.