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The Trichodiene Synthase Gene from Stachybotrys Chartarum : A Potential
Diagnostic Indicator of Indoor Contamination
Neil A. Straus PhD, James Scott, Bess Wong MSc Department of Botany,
University of Toronto, Canada Email: straus@botany.utoronto.ca
The hyphomycete Stachybotrys chartarum readily grows on damp cellulosic areas in
buildings producing spores that may contain highly toxic trichothecenes. Here we
report the cloning, sequencing of the gene for trichodiene synthase which is the
first enzyme of the pathway uniquely dedicated to the synthesis of
trichothecenes. The predicted amino acid sequence shows regions of high
conservation. Nucleotide sequence divergence permits the selection of PCR
primers that can detect the trichodiene synthase gene of S. chartarum in DNA
diagnostic strategies.