RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Namekawa, Satoshi H. A1 Iwabata, Kazuki A1 Sugawara, Hiroko A1 Hamada, Fumika N. A1 Koshiyama, Akiyo A1 Chiku, Hiroyuki A1 Kamada, Takashi A1 Sakaguchi, KengoYR 2005 T1 Knockdown of LIM15/DMC1 in the mushroom Coprinus cinereus by double-stranded RNA-mediated gene silencing JF Microbiology, VO 151 IS 11 SP 3669 OP 3678 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.28209-0 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2080, AB The basidiomycete Coprinus cinereus has many advantages as a model organism for studying sexual development and meiosis, but it has been difficult to investigate using reverse-genetics methods, such as gene disruption by homologous recombination. Here, gene repression by dsRNA-mediated gene silencing was tried as an alternative method for reverse-genetics studies. It was shown that transformation of the LIM15/DMC1 dsRNA expression construct (LIM15dsRNA) resulted in genomic insertion of LIM15dsRNA and paucity of the LIM15/DMC1 transcript. First, LIM15dsRNA was transformed into the homothallic strain AmutBmut to generate a homozygote in which both nuclei had a copy of LIM15dsRNA. The LIM15/DMC1-repressed strain showed abnormal homologous chromosome synapsis during meiosis. Basidiospore production was reduced to 16 % by the induction of dsRNA. However, approximately 60 % of basidiospores were viable. Next, a heterozygote was generated in which one nucleus had a copy of LIM15dsRNA. The phenotype was similar to that of the homozygote. These results are not only the first demonstration of dsRNA-mediated gene silencing in a member of the homobasidiomycete fungi, to which 90 % of mushroom species belong, but also the first successful use of a reverse-genetics approach in C. cinereus research., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.28209-0