An endophytic taxol-producing fungus from Taxus x media, Aspergillus candidus MD3.

An endophytic taxol-producing fungus (strain MD3) isolated from the inner bark of Taxus x media was identified as Aspergillus candidus according to its morphological characteristics, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and 18S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Taxol produced by A. candidus MD3 was shown to be identical to authentic taxol analyzed by UV, HPLC, MS and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The gene encoding the 10-deacetylbaccatin III-10-O-acetyl transferase, which catalyzes formation of the last diterpene intermediate in the taxol biosynthetic pathway, has been cloned from A. candidus MD3 for the first time and possesses high homology to the same gene found in Taxus spp.