A DNA fragment containing the ADE2 gene from Schwanniomyces occidentalis can be maintained as an extrachromosomal element.

A 4.05-kb DNA fragment containing the ADE2 gene from Schwanniomyces occidentalis was cloned into the pUC19 vector. When an ade2 strain of Sc. occidentalis was transformed with this plasmid, pADE-2 was found to integrate into the host chromosome and was also present in a variety of extrachromosomal species. These extrachromosomal elements were present in multiple copies, varied in molecular mass and were composed of polymerized forms of pADE-2. A fragment containing the ADE2 gene was used to transform a Sc. occidentalis ade2 mutant, as either a linear or circularized molecule. The linear form integrated into the host genome, whereas the circularized form was found as a stably maintained extrachromosomal element with no evidence of integration or detectable loss of the Ade+ phenotype upon subculturing of transformed yeast under nonselective conditions for 60 generations. The ratio of the number of extrachromosomal ADE2 genes to genomic ADE2 ranged from 3.8 to 6.6.