Cloning of the xylose reductase gene of Candida milleri.

The entire nucleotide sequence of the xylose reductase (XR) gene in Candida milleri CBS8195 sourdough yeast was determined by degenerate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genome walking. The sequence analysis revealed an open-reading frame of 981 bp that encoded 326 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 36.7 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of XR of C. milleri was 64.7% homologous to that of Kluyveromyces lactis. The cloned XR gene was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the resulting recombinant S. cerevisiae strain produced xylitol from xylose, indicating that the C. milleri XR introduced into S. cerevisiae is functional. An enzymatic activity assay and semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR revealed that the expression of CmXR was induced by xylose.