Green mold of citrus, caused by Penicillium digitatum, is the most serious postharvest disease of citrus. Sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) is one of the key enzymes of sterol biosynthesis in biological kingdoms and is a prime target of antifungal drugs. To exploit novel 14α-demethylase inhibitor (DMI) fungicides, DNA and total RNA were isolated from P. digitatum. The CYP51 of P. digitatum was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, yielding recombinant protein with a molecular weight of c. 59 kDa. The P. digitatum CYP51 protein (PdCYP51) was ...
