WO2000050567A1

WO2000050567A1 - Fungal cells with inactivated dna mismatch repair system

Info

Publication number: WO2000050567A1
Application number: PCT/DK2000/000063
Authority: WO
Inventors: Torben Vedel Borchert; Lars Christiansen; Jesper Vind
Original assignee: Novozymes A/S
Priority date: 1999-02-24
Filing date: 2000-02-17
Publication date: 2000-08-31
Also published as: CN1341146A; AU2536400A; JP2002536990A; EP1157095A1

Abstract

A process for making DNA libraries in filamentous fungal cells using a novel cloned gene involved in the mismatch repair system of filamentous fungal cells.

Description

_{FUNGAL CEL}L_S WITH INACΗVATED DNA MISMATCH REPAIR SYSTEM

FIELD OF INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The mismatch repair system is a system within cells which recognises mismatches in newly synthesised duplex DNA sequences .

The mismatch repair system then either corrects the mismatches which are seen as errors by e . g. using the methylated ""old¹¹ strain as template or alternatively it may mediate degradation of the duplex DNA sequences which comprise the mismatches .

Independently on the precise mechanism the end result will be that the "mismatch repair system' ' will limit the ""diversity ' ' within a cell, diversity being represented as duplex DNA sequences which comprise mismatches .

For example a duplex DNA sequence which comprises a single mismatch represents a diversity of two different DNA sequences within the cell. If the mismatch repair system corrects the mismatch there will only be a diversity of one within the cell.

Alternatively, if the mismatch repair system mediates the degradation of such a duplex DNA sequence the diversity will be lost. See figure 1 for a graphic illustration on how the mismatch repair system may work within a cell.

Consequently, if duplex DNA sequences comprising mismatches represent a DNA library of interest, then the diversity of this library may be limited when transformed (placed) into cells with an active mismatch repair system.

The art provides a solution to this problem by making cells wherein the mismatch system is inactive. EP 449923 describes bacterial cells wherein the mismatch system is inactivated.

WO 97/37011 describes yeast cells wherein the mismatch system is inactivated. See the working examples of this document .

WO 97/05268 describes mice cells wherein the mismatch system is inactivated. See the working examples of this document .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an improved strategy for making DNA libraries in filamentous fungal cells. A filamentous fungal cell population comprising such a DNA library may then be used to select a polypeptide of interest. Also polynucleotide sequences with particular properties might be selected, such as promoters, terminators and other regulatory elements with changed/improved properties .

The solution is based on that the present inventors have cloned a NOVEL gene involved in the mismatch repair system of a filamentous fungal cell. Further, this gene is the first gene cloned which is involved in the mismatch repair system of a filamentous fungal cell.

By inactivating this gene in a filamentous cell it is possible to obtain a filamentous cell which is deficient in its mismatch repair system and which is highly useful for preparing DNA libraries in filamentous fungal cells.

The gene comprises a very characterising DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 683-758 of SEQ ID NO 2.

This DNA has been used to clone the full length gene encoding the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 1-940 of SEQ ID NO 2. See working examples herein (vide infra) .

The gene cloned as described in working examples herein is a gene cloned from an Aspergillus oryzae filamentous fungal cell.

However, based on the novel sequence information provided herein it is routine work for the skilled person to clone 3 similar homologous genes from other filamentous fungal cells by e.g. standard hybridisation or PCR technology, preferably by using the DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 683-758 of SEQ ID NO 2 as a basis for making a hybridisation probe or PCR primers.

Accordingly, in a first aspect the present invention relates to a filamentous fungal cell, wherein a gene involved in the mismatch repair system has been inactivated and in which the gene involved in the mismatch repair system comprises: (a) a DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 683-758 of SEQ ID NO 2; or (b) a DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide sequence which is at least 70% identical to the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 683-758 of SEQ ID NO 2 ; and in a second aspect the present invention relates to a filamentous fungal cell, wherein a gene involved in the mismatch repair system has been inactivated and in which the gene involved in the mismatch repair system comprises : (a) a DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 1-940 of SEQ ID NO 2; or (b) a DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide sequence which is at least 70% identical to the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 1-940 of SEQ ID NO 2.

As stated above a filamentous fungal cell of the first or second aspect of the invention is very suitable for making a DNA library of interest in filamentous fungal cells.

Accordingly, in a third aspect the present invention relates to a process for preparing a filamentous fungal cell population wherein individual cells in the population comprise individually different DNA sequences of interest representing a

DNA library of interest comprising following steps:

(a) placing individually different DNA sequences of interest in a filamentous fungal cell population comprising a filamentous fungal cell of the first or second aspect of the invention; and

(b) growing the population of (a) for a period of time allowing an individual DNA sequence of interest in the 4 population to be duplicated at least once under conditions wherein the mismatch repair system gene of the first or second aspect of the invention has been inactivated.

One of the advantages of allowing an individual mismatch repair inactivated filamentous fungal cell duplicated DNA of interest at least once as descried under step (b) of the third aspect is illustrated in figure 1. As can be seen in figure 1 the process of the third aspect using a filamentous fungal mismatch repair inactivated cell as described herein allows preparation of a DNA library wherein eventual hetero duplex DNA mismatches are not corrected. This gives a DNA library with a higher diversity as compared to a DNA library made in a fila- mentous fungal cell NOT having an inactivated mismatch repair system (see figure 1) . Duplication of DNA sequence of interest means that the two strands are replicated such that two separate sets of double stranded DNA are generated, each being based on a separate one of the two original strands . A filamentous fungal cell population wherein individual cells in the population comprise a DNA library of interest as described above may be used to select a polypeptide of interest .

Accordingly, in a fourth aspect the present invention relates to a process for production of a polypeptide of interest comprising the steps of the third aspect and wherein the DNA sequences of interest encode a polypeptide of interest and which further comprises following step:

(c) selecting from the resultant population of filamentous fungal cells of step (b) of the third aspect a desired polypeptide of interest .

An advantage of the process of the fourth aspect may be that the polypeptide of interest is selected from a filamentous fungal cell expressing the polypeptide. Consequently, it is directly known that the polypeptide can be expressed from a filamentous fungal cell, which is usefully if it is subsequently required to produce the polypeptide in large scale in a filamentous fungal cell. This may be of particular interest when the DNA library encodes polypeptides of interest which are derived from filamentous fungal cells, since it is known that filamentous fungal polypeptides preferably are produced in industrial relevant high yields in filamentous fungal cells.

This is contrary to a similar selection process using e.g. a yeast cell. Here the only thing known is that the selected polypeptide is capable of being expressed in yeast and later expression a filamentous fungal cell might give problems, especially if high yields are required.

DEFINITIONS:

Following section provides definitions of technical features in above-mentioned aspects of the invention. The term ""a gene ' ' denotes herein a gene (a DNA sequence) will is capable of being expressed into a polypeptide within said cell. Accordingly, said gene sequence will be defined as an open reading frame starting from a start codon (normally ""ATG", ""GTG", or ""TTG") and ending at a stop codon (normally ""TAA", TAG" or ""TGA" ) .

In order to express said gene there must be elements, as known in the art, in connection with the gene, necessary for expression of the gene within the cell . Such standard elements may include a promoter, a ribosomal binding site, a termination sequence, and may be others elements as known in the art.

The term ""mismatch repair system¹¹ shall herein be understood according to the art, as a system within cells which recognises mismatches in duplex DNA sequences. See e.g. WO 97/37011, page 1, line 21-28) The mismatch repair system then either corrects the mismatches which are seen as errors by e . g. using the methylated ""old¹¹ strain as template or alternatively it may mediate degradation of the duplex DNA sequences which comprise the mismatches. Independently on the precise mechanism the end result will be that the ""mismatch repair system¹' will limit the ""diversity¹¹ within the cell represented by such duplex DNA sequences which comprise mismatches. 6

For example a duplex DNA sequence which comprises a single mismatch represents a diversity of two different DNA sequences within the cell. If the mismatch repair system corrects the mismatch their will only be a diversity of one within the cell. Alternatively, if the mismatch repair system mediates the degradation of such a duplex DNA sequence this diversity will be lost.

A polypeptide encoded by a gene involved in the mismatch repair system recognises a mismatch by a mechanism involving binding to the mismatch.

Accordingly, a suitable assay to test whether or not a filamentous fungal cell as described herein is inactivated in its mismatch repair system is to use a ""gel shift assay'¹ or alternatively termed a ""gel retardation assay¹'. This is a standard assay used in the art. See WO 97/05268, page 16,17 and 25.

The principle in such an assay is that cell extracts are prepared of both (a) a filamentous fungal cell wherein the gene, as described herein, involved in the mismatch repair system is inactivated; and (b) the corresponding filamentous fungal cell wherein the gene is NOT inactivated. These extracts are then bound/mixed to oligonucleotides containing the base- pair mismatched G:T; G:A; G:G; A:C, and an extrahelical TG dinucleotide and run on a nondenaturing gel. If the gel shift assay demonstrates that the control filamentous fungal cell wherein the gene is NOT inactivated comprises any protein (s) which binds to any of above mentioned oligonucleotides and these binding protein (s) are NOT seen in the filamentous fungal cell wherein the gene, as described herein, involved in the mismatch repair system is inactivated then it is a confirmation that the mismatch repair system in the latter is inactivated.

A detailed description of a suitable gel shift assay is provided in working example 1 herein. The sequence identity in relation to the terms

""a DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide sequence which is at least 70% identical to the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 683-758 of SEQ ID NO 2 ' ' and ""a DNA sequence encodincr a polypeptide sequence which is at least 70% identical to the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 1-940 of SEQ ID NO 2 ' ' ; is determined as the degree of identity between two sequences indicating a derivation of the first sequence from the second. The identity may suitably be determined by means of computer programs known in the art such as GAP provided in the GCG program package (Program Manual for the Wisconsin Package, Version 8, August 1994, Genetics Computer Group, 575 Science Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, USA 53711) (Needleman, S.B. and Wunsch, CD., (1970), Journal of Molecular Biology, 48, 443- 453) . Using GAP with the following settings for polypeptide sequence comparison: GAP creation penalty of 3.0 and GAP extension penalty of 0.1, the polypeptide encoded by an analogous DNA sequence of the invention exhibits a degree of identity preferably of at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 90%, more preferably at least 95%, and especially at least 97% with amino acid sequence shown in positions 683-758 of SEQ ID NO 2, according to the first aspect of the invention; or with amino acid sequence shown in positions 1-940 of SEQ ID NO 2, according to the second aspect of the invention.

The term ""DNA library' ' denotes herein a library of at least two different DNA sequences. For many practical purposes the library is must bigger. Accordingly, the DNA library preferably comprises at least 1000 different DNA sequences, more preferably at least 10000 different DNA sequences, and even more preferably at least 100000 different DNA sequences.

The term ""placing individually different DNA sequences of interest in a filamentous fungal cell population¹' in relation to step (a) in the process of the third aspect of the invention shall herein be understood broadly in the sense that it is NOT identical DNA sequences of interest which are placed in the filamentous fungal cell population. In the present context, relating to a process for making a DNA library using a mismatch repair deficient cell, the term should preferably denotes a situation wherein a cell within the filamentous fungal cell population comprises at least two different DNA sequences of interest which are so partially homologous that they are capable of hybridising/recombining to each other within the cell. It is within the skilled persons general knowledge to determine how partially homologous such sequences have to be in order to obtain said recombination within the cell.

A practical example may be that single stranded oligonucleotide sequences partially homologous to chromosomal DNA sequence are placed within the cell or duplex DNA sequences comprising mismatches (e.g. comprised within a vector) are placed within the cell. See below for further description of such examples .

The specific experimental way of placing these DNA sequences within a filamentous cell may be done according to any of the many suitable techniques, such as transformation techniques .

The term ""growing the population of (a) for a period of time allowing an individual DNA sequence of interest in the population to be duplicated at least once under conditions wherein the mismatch repair system gene has been inactivated¹ ' according to step (b) of the third aspect of the invention denotes that after an individual cell has duplicated itself at least once then the mismatch repair system may be activated again without loosing the advantage of the process. The technical reason for this is illustrated in figure 1. In this example a duplex DNA sequence comprising a single mismatch is placed in filamentous cell. After the cell has been duplicated once under conditions wherein the mismatch repair system gene has been inactivated the two individually different single stranded DNA sequences within the duplex DNA have individually been duplicated providing two different duplex sequences, one in each duplicated cell, without any mismatches. Accordingly, since such a cell does NOT comprise duplex DNA sequences of interest having mismatches then there is no technical need to maintaining the mismatch repair system inactivated. In sections below are described preferred embodiments of the invention by way of examples only.

DRAWINGS : Figure 1 :

This figure illustrates an example wherein a duplex DNA sequence comprising a single mismatch is placed in filamentous cell. After the cell has been duplicated once under conditions wherein the mismatch repair system gene has been inactivated the two individually different single stranded DNA sequences within the duplex DNA have individually been duplicated providing two different duplex sequences, one in each duplicated cell, without any mismatches. On the contrary, in a cell wherein the mismatch repair system is active, a mismatch within a duplex is corrected.

Figure 2 :

This figure shows three partial Aspergillus oryzae polypeptide sequences: "msh2 ' Ao-collO/13/15 ; derived from cloned PCR fragments. The three partial polypeptide sequences are aligned with two other partial polypeptide sequences of known mismatch repair proteins: a human mismatch repair protein, msh2 -human . p; and a fungal Saccharomyces cerevisiae mismatch repair protein, S.c. msh2. The underlined sequences in the figure derive from the construction of the PCR fragments.

Figure 3 :

This figure shows an alignment of the proposed polypeptide sequence of the putative Aspergillus oryzae mismatch repair protein (Ao.MSH2) with the polypeptide sequences of three known mismatch repair proteins from human (msh2 -human .p) , mouse (msh2-mus .p) , and yeast (S.c. msh2).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A filamentous fungal cell, as described herein, wherein a gene, as described herein, involved in the mismatch repair system has been inactivated.

Inactivation of a gene involved in the mismatch repair system: The NOVEL gene, as described herein, involved in the mismatch repair system may be inactivated by any of the numerous known techniques known to the skilled person.

An embodiment of the invention relates to a filamentous fungal cell as described herein, wherein the gene involved in the mismatch repair is defective.

Numerous methods are known to the skilled person to make a gene defective when the DNA sequence is KNOWN. These methods includes deleting part of the DNA sequence of the gene; introducing frame-shift mutations by deleting or inserting nucleotides; introducing stop codons etc.

A preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a filamentous fungal cell as described herein, wherein the gene involved in the mismatch repair has been inactivated transitorily.

Similarly to above, a number of methods are known to the skilled person for doing this, including insertion of a regulable promoter upstream of the gene or e.g. permanently deleting part of the gene on the chromosome followed by inserting a vector (e.g. a plasmid) into the cell which comprises the gene. The plasmid may then comprise a regulable promoter up-steam of the gene or it may be that the plasmid can be removed from the cell when the mismatch repair system shall be inactivated transitorily and then re-inserted into the cell when the mismatch repair system shall be re-activated.

It is within the skilled persons general knowledge to choose the appropriate strategy for a specific technical purpose .

A preferred way to make a filamentous fungal cell which is capable of transitorily inactivate the mismatch repair system as described herein is first to permanently inactive the mismatch repair gene described herein on the chromosome of the cell followed by inserting a plasmid into the cell which comprises the gene, wherein the plasmid is characterised by that it comprises a suitable replication initiating sequence and a suitable selectable marker.

Preferably the suitable replication initiating sequence is AMA1 (Gems, D., et al . (1991, Gene 98:61-67). A more detailed description of suitable replication initiating sequences and suitable selectable markers is provided immediately below and in working example 4 herein is provided an example of this strategy using a plasmid comprising AMAl as replication initiating sequence and AmdS as selectable marker .

Replication initiating sequences

As used herein, the term "fungal replication initiating sequence" is defined as a nucleic acid sequence which is capable of supporting autonomous replication of an extrachromosomal molecule, e.g., a plasmid or a DNA vector, in a fungal host cell, normally without structural rearrangement of the plasmid or integration into the host cell genome. The replication ini- tiating sequence may be of any origin as long as it is capable of mediating replication initiating activity in a fungal cell. Preferably, the replication initiating sequence is obtained from a filamentous fungal cell, more preferably a strain of Aspergill us, Fusari um or Al ternaria , and even more preferably, a strain of A . nidulans , A . oryzae , A . niger, F. oxysporum or Al ternaria al tena ta .

A replication initiating sequence may be identified by methods well-known in the art. For instance, the sequence may be identified among genomic fragments derived from the organism in question as a sequence capable of sustaining autonomous replication in yeast, (Ballance and Turner, Gene, 36 (1985), 321- 331), an indication of a capability of autonomous replication in filamentous fungal cells. The replication initiating activity in fungi of a given sequence may also be determined by transforming fungi with contemplated plasmid replicators and selecting for colonies having an irregular morphology, indicating loss of a sectorial plasmid which in turn would lead to lack of growth on selective medium when selecting for a gene found on the plasmid (Gems et al, Gene, 98 (1991) 61-67) . AMAl was isolated in this way. An alternative way to isolate a replication initiating sequence is to isolate natural occurring plasmids (e.g. as disclosed by Tsuge et al . , Genetics 146 (1997) 111-120 for Al ternaria a t erna ta ) .

Examples of replication initiating sequences include, but are not limited to, the ANSI and AMAl sequences of Aspergill us nidulans , e.g., as described, respectively, by Cullen, D., et al. (1987, Nucleic Acids Res. 15:9163-9175) and Gems, D., et al. (1991, Gene 98:61-67) .

The term "replication initiating activity" is used herein in its conventional meaning, i.e. to indicate that the sequence is capable of supporting autonomous replication of an ex- trachromosomal molecule, such as a plasmid or a DNA vector in a fungal cell .

The term "without structural rearrangement of the plasmid" is used herein to mean that no part of the plasmid is deleted or inserted into another part of the plasmid, nor is any host genomic DNA inserted into the plasmid.

Filamentous fungal selective marker

The term "selective pressure" is defined herein as culturing a filamentous fungal cell, containing a DNA vector containing a fungal selective marker gene operably linked to a polynucleo- tide sequence of interest, in the presence of an effective amount or the absence of an appropriate selective agent. The effective amount of the selective agent is defined herein as an amount sufficient for allowing the selection of cells containing the selection marker from cells which do not contain the selection marker.

In a preferred embodiment, the fungal selective marker is selected from the group of genes which encodes a product capa- ble of providing resistance to biocide or viral toxicity, resistance to heavy metal toxicity, or prototrophy to auxotrophs.

In a more preferred embodiment, the prototrophy is obtained from an enzyme selected from the group of metabolic pathways consisting of nucleotide synthesis, cofactor synthesis, amino acid synthesis, acetamide metabolism, proline metabolism, sul- fate metabolism, and nitrate metabolism. In an even more preferred embodiment, in the methods of the present invention the fungal selective marker is a gene selected from the group consisting of argB (ornithine carbamoyl- transferase) , amdS (acetamidase) , bar (phosphinothricin acetyl- transferase) , hemA ( 5-aminolevulinate synthase), hemB (porpho- bilinogen synthase), hygB (hygromycin phosphotransferase) , niaD (nitrate reductase), prn (proline permease), pyrG (orotidine- 5' -phosphate decarboxylase) , pyroA, riboB, sC (sulfate adenyl- transferase) , and trpC (anthranilate synthase) . The fungal cell is cultivated in a suitable medium and under suitable conditions for screening or selecting for transfor- mants harbouring the variant polynucleotide sequence of interest having or encoding the desired characteristic. The cultivation may be performed in accordance with methods well-known in the art for screening of polynucleotide variant libraries.

The filamentous fungal cell

The filamentous fungal cell as described herein includes all filamentous forms of the subdivision Eumycota and Oomycota. The filamentous fungi are characterised by a mycelial wall composed of chitin, cellulose, glucan, chitosan, mannan, and other complex polysaccharides . Vegetative growth is by hyphal elongation and carbon catabolism is obligately aerobic. In contrast, vegetative growth by yeasts such as Sa ccharomyces cerevisiae is by budding of a unicellular thallus and carbon catabolism may be fermentative. In a preferred embodiment, the filamentous fungal cell is a cell of a species of, but is not limited to, Acremonium, Aspergill us , Fusarium, Humicola , Mucor, Mycel ioph thora , Neurospora , Penicill ium, Scytal idium, Thiela via , Tolypocladi um, and Trichoderma .

Examples of filamentous fungal cells of use in the present invention include an Aspergill us cell, an Acremonium cell, a Fusarium cell, a Humicola cell, a Mucor cell, a Myceliophthora cell, a Neurospora cell, a Penicillium cell, a Thielavia cell, a Tolypocladium cell, and a Trichoderma cell. 14

More specifically, the filamentous fungal cell is an Asper^¬ gill us a wamori , Aspergill us foetidus, Aspergill us j aponicus, Aspergillus nidulans , Aspergillus niger, or Aspergillus oryzae cell ; a Fusari um bactridioides , Fusarium cerealis, Fusarium crookwellense, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium graminearum,

Fusarium graminum, Fusarium heterosporum, Fusarium negundi , Fusari um oxysporum, Fusarium reticula tum, Fusarium roseum, Fusari um sambucinum, Fusarium sarcochroum, Fusarium sporotri cioides, Fusarium sulphureum, Fusarium torulosum, Fusari um trichothecioides, Fusarium venena tum cell or a Fusa ri um venena t um cell (Nirenberg sp . nov; a Humi cola insolens cell or a Humicola lanuginosa cell; a Mucor miehei cell; a Mycelioph thora thermophila cell; a Neurospora crassa cell; a Penicillium purpurogenum cell; a Thielavia terrestris cell; or a Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma koningii , Trichoderma longibrachia tum, Trichoderma reesei , or Trichoderma viride cell .

A process for preparing a filamentous fungal cell population comprising a DNA library according to the third aspect of the invention:

Placing individually different DNA sequences of interest in a filamentous fungal cell population according to step (a) of the process of the third aspect of the invention:

As state above, the specific experimental way of placing these DNA sequences within a filamentous cell may be done according to any of the many suitable techniques, such as transformation techniques. See the general fungal textbook

""Fungal Genetic" (1996, ISBN 0-8247-9544-X) for a further description of such standard techniques.

A practical example may be that single stranded oligonucleotide sequences partially homologous to chromosomal DNA sequence are placed within the cell. See Calissano et al . (Fungal genetic newsletter 43:15-16 (1995) for further description of this.

Another example may be that duplex DNA sequences comprising mismatches (e.g. comprised within a vector as shown in figure 1) are placed within the cell.

In an preferred embodiment the different DNA sequences of interest is comprised in a plasmid wherein the plasmid is characterised by that it comprises a suitable replication initiating sequence and a suitable selectable marker as described above.

Preferably the suitable replication initiating sequence is AMAl (Gems, D., et al . (1991, Gene 98:61-67).

Growing the population of step (a) for a period of time allowing an individual DNA sequence of interest in the population to be duplicated at least once under conditions wherein the mismatch repair system gene, as describe herein has been inactivated, according to step (b) of the third aspect of the invention. Growing of the population may be done in any of the numerous suitable known media for growing filamentous fungal cells. It is within the skilled persons general knowledge to choose such a suitable media.

As explained above an individual cell in the population must be allowed to be duplicated at least once under conditions wherein the mismatch repair system gene, as described herein has been inactivated.

Said cells may of course be allowed to be duplicated more than once under conditions wherein the mismatch repair system gene has been inactivated.

Since inactivation of the mismatch repair system normally will cause accumulation of mutations on the chromosomal DNA within the cell and thereby maybe make lethal mutations to the cell the actual preferred number of duplication cycles as described above will depend on how fast such potential lethal mutations arise.

It is within the skilled persons general knowledge to determine how many of duplication cycles it preferred. Due to these potential lethal mutations it is preferred that the mismatch repair system under step (b) has been inactivated transitorily.

After suitable cycles of duplication according to step (b) of the third aspect the transitorily inactivated mismatch repair system the mismatch repair system is then re-activated in order to avoid these lethal mutations in the filamentous fungal cell as such. The strategy for this transitorily inactivation may be any of the strategies described above. Another strategy to limit introduction of mutations on the chromosome, is to transitorily stop the chromosomal replication while replicating the extra-chromosomal element under mismatch repair deficient conditions. This can be achieved by introducing mutations in elements being solely necessary for the chromosomal replication.

A preferred strategy is to use a filamentous fungal cell wherein the gene involved in the mismatch repair system as described herein is permanently inactivated on the chromosome of the cell followed by inserting a plasmid into the cell which comprises the gene, wherein the plasmid is characterised by that it comprises a suitable replication initiating sequence and a suitable selectable marker. See above for a further explanation of this strategy.

A further embodiment relates to the process of the third aspect of the invention, wherein the mismatch repair system under step (b) is defective.

In a further embodiment the invention relates to a process as described herein, wherein, under step (b) of the third aspect of the invention, there is an in vivo intergenic recombination of partially homologous DNA sequences of interest .

Since the overall concept of the present invention is to provide a process involving inactivation of the mismatch system it is of course preferably that said partially homologous DNA sequences are capable of in vivo forming duplex DNA sequences comprising mismatches. A process for production of a polypeptide of interest comprising the steps of the third aspect of the invention and wherein the DNA sequences of interest encode a polypeptide of interest, according to the fourth aspect of the invention:

Selecting from the resultant population of filamentous fungal cells of step (b) of the third aspect a desired polypeptide of interest, according to step (c) of the fourth aspect. The desired polypeptide of interest may be any polypeptide comprising an desired technical feature, such as improved stability; a desired specific activity; a desired pH optimum; an improved wash performance in a detergent; etc.

The specific strategy for selecting this desired polypeptide of interest may be any of the numerous selecting strategies known to the skilled person, such as plate screening assays, micro-titer plate based assays, etc.

An embodiment of the invention relates to a process of the fourth aspect of the invention, which further comprises following steps:

(d) an optionally step comprising modifying the amino acid sequence of the desired selected polypeptide of interest according to a particularly further specific need;

(e) placing the DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest of step (c) of the fourth aspect or the modified polypeptide of interest of step (d) into a filamentous fungal cell which is suitable for large scale production of the polypeptide of interest ;

(f) cultivating the filamentous fungal cell of step (e) in a fermentor of at least 10000 m3 under conditions permitting expression of the polypeptide of interest; and (g) isolating the polypeptide of interest.

This embodiment relates to an industrial very relevant process, wherein the selected polypeptide of interest is produced in large scale. The optionally step (d) relates to a situation wherein e.g. the desired polypeptide of interest is selected in order to e.g. identify a polypeptide with improved wash performance in a detergent according to step (c) of the third aspect of the invention. This polypeptide while having improved wash performance in a detergent may not be sufficiently stable for a commercial product. Accordingly, it may be required to make some further amino acid substitutions in this selected polypeptide, such as e.g. suitable Proline substitutions on order to obtain sufficient stability to commercialising this polypeptide .

A further embodiment relates to a process of the embodiment immediately above, wherein the filamentous fungal cell which is suitable for large-scale production of the polypeptide of interest of step (e) said embodiment is another filamentous fungal cell as compared to the filamentous fungal cell of step (a) of the third aspect of the invention.

This embodiment relates to a situation wherein the filamentous fungal cell used to select the polypeptide of interest is different from the one which is used for large scale production.

A further embodiment relates to a process as described herein, wherein the polypeptide of interest is a polypeptide derived from a filamentous fungal cell. The term derived from a filamentous fungal cell should be understood in the sense that the information in the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is derived from a polypeptide obtained from a filamentous fungal cell.

Consequently, it may be a variant of a wild-type filamentous fungal polypeptide and/or may be a polypeptide which is a result of a recombination/shuffling of two or more different filamentous fungal polypeptides.

In an even further embodiment the invention relates to a process as described herein, wherein the polypeptide of inter- est is an enzyme, such as an amylase, a protease, a cellulase, a lipase, a xylanase; a phospholipase .

EXAMPLES : Materials

Chemicals used as buffers and substrates were commercial products of at least reagent grade.

EXAMPLE 1:

A gel shift assay suitable for determining if a filamentous fungal cell as described herein is inactivated in the mismatch repair system: The principle in this gel shift assay is that cell extracts are prepared of both (a) a filamentous fungal cell wherein the gene, as described herein, involved in the mismatch repair system is inactivated; and (b) the corresponding filamentous fungal cell wherein the gene is NOT inactivated. These extracts are then bound/mixed to oligonucleotides containing the base-pair mismatched G:T; G:A; G:G; A:C, and an extrahelical TG dinucleotide and run on a nondenaturing gel.

If the gel shift assay demonstrates that the control filamentous fungal cell wherein the gene is NOT inactivated comprises any protein (s) which binds to any of above mentioned oligonucleotides and these binding protein (s) is NOT seen in the filamentous fungal cell wherein the gene, as described herein, involved in the mismatch repair system is inactivated then it is a confirmation that the mismatch repair system in the latter is inactivated. Experimental procedure :

Preparation of cell extracts are performed as described in Nagata et al . (Mol. Gen Genet (1993) 237:251-260; See Materials and Methods) . Annealing of oligonucleotides, binding of cell extracts to duplex oligonucleotides containing mismatched, and nondenaturing polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis are performed essentially as described (Stephenson and Karran; Selective binding to DNA base pair mismatches by proteins from human cells; J. Biol. Chem. 264:2177-21182 (1989)).

However, gelelectrophoresis is performed in TAE buffer rather than in TBE buffer. To obtain duplex oligonucleotides, the oligonucleotide U is radiolabelled and annealed with any of the unlabelled oligonucleotides L-G.T, L-G.A, L-G.C, L-A.C, L- T.G., or L-HOM. Oligonucleotide sequences are derived from

Aquilina et al . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:8905-8909 (1994) .

U: 5'-GGGAAGCTGCCAGGCCCCAGTGTCAGCCTCCTATGCTC-3' (SEQ ID NO

3) ;

L-G.T: 5'-GAGCATAGGAGGCTGACATTGGGGCCTGGCAGCTTCCC-3^' (SEQ ID NO

4) (resulting in a G.T mismatch); L-G.A. : 5'-GAGCATAGGAGGCTGACAATGGGGCCTGGCAGCTTCCC-3' (SEQ ID NO

5) (resulting in a G.A mismatch) ;

L-G.G. : 5'-GAGCATAGGAGGCTGACAGTGGGGCCTGGCAGCTTCCC-3' (SEQ ID NO

6) (resulting in a G.G mismatch) ;

L-A.C. : 5'-GAGCATAGGAGGCTGACACCGGGGCCTGGCAGCTTCCC-3' (SEQ ID NO 7) (resulting in a A.C mismatch);

L-TG: 5'-GAGCATAGGAGGCTGACACTGTGGGGCCTGGCAGCTTCCC-3" (SEQ ID NO

8) (resulting in an extrahelical TG dinucleotide); L-HOM: 5'-GAGCATAGGAGGCTGACACCGGGGCCTGGCAGCTTCCC-3' (SEQ ID NO

9) (resulting in a homoduplex) .

In all assays, a twofold excess of unlabelled homoduplex competitor oligonucleotide is included.

EXAMPLE 2 : Cloning of a gene involved in the mismatch repair system of an

Aspergillus oryzae cell.

The gene cloned as described in this example is shown in SEQ ID NO 1 (DNA sequence) and SEQ ID NO 2 (the translated amino acid sequence) . Several sequences of mismatch repair proteins from various organisms are known, only three of these have been utilized in the following: S . cerevisiae (M84170), H. sapiens

(L47580) and mouse (U21011) .

The numbers indicated are reference numbers from the public available GenBank database. Based on the C-terminal homology between known mismatch repair proteins, a set of degenerate primers were designed, aiming at amplification of a partial sequence of the Aspergillus oryzae homolog:

Pr 117858 (SEQ ID NO 10) : P-GGCNCARATHGGNTGYTTYGTNCC Pr 117859 (SEQ ID NO 11) : P-GCCCANGCNARNCCRAANCC

With chromosomal DNA from A. oryzae strain JaL142 (WO 96/29391) as template, and above primers the following 50μl PWO polymerase based PCR reaction was performed at eight MgS0₄ concentrations (0.5 mM to 4.0 mM, as recommended by the manufacturer; Boehringer M.) . 1 mM MgS0₄ was found to be optimal and gave a discrete band of appr . 230 bp as would be expected if no introns were embodied in the sequence.

PCR-cycle profile: [96°C; 2 min - 30 cycles of (94°C; 15s - 50°C; 15s - 72°C; 30s) - 72°C,7 min - 4°C; hold].

The 230bp PCR fragment was blunt end ligated into filled in BamHl site of pUC19. pUC19 was BamHl cleaved in presence of calf intestine alkaline phosphatase, followed by filling in the sticky ends by klenow polymerase and dNTP . Three individual plasmids harbouring the insert were isolated from E.coli XL1 transformants of above ligation, and sequenced. Alignment of polypeptides derived by translation of the cloned PCR fragments, revealed a strong homolgy to known mismatch repair protein sequences (see Figure 2) .

The underlined sequences of Figure 2 are sequences derived from the consensus PCR primers described above.

The three Aspergillus sequences of Figure 2 are equal to the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO 2 from positions 683-758, except from position 685 which in the final cloned sequence is a Thr (T) in sted of an lie (I) as indicated above. This is due to the sequence in above mentioned consensus primers.

The alignment shown in Figure 2 clearly demonstrates that the cloned fragment originates from an A . oryzae homologue of a mismatch repair protein. In order to clone the entire gene, a radiolabeled probe of the cloned fragment was generated by PCR, using 0.5 mg pUC19 ' msh2 ' -13 (see above) as template in a 100 ml reaction with Taq polymerase, 30 pmol pUC forward and reverse primers and o.2 mM of dG- , dC-, dTTP and 0.2mM dATP + ³²P-dATP. The generated radiolabeled probe was liberated from pUC19 sequences by EcoRI- Hind3 digestion followed by gel purification of the resulting 293 bp fragment.

The probe was hybridized to a membrane gridded cosmid library of genomic DNA from A . oryzae strain A1560 (the father of JaL142) (W096/29391) . A positive clone was identified on the filter when analyzed in a phosphoimager, and the clone was identified as λ31A2.

The λ31A2 cosmid DNA was propagated and used for southern analysis, using the same radiolabeled primer as above. An approximately 9 Kb Pst fragment, split by BstX (previously found in the cloned PCR fragment) into 5.8 and 3.2 kb fragments both lightening up with the probe, was identified and cloned into Pst cut pUC19, giving a plasmid named pUC19msh2P. The insert was sequentially sequenced, starting with primers pointing out from the previously determined sequence, followed by primers based on the sequences determined in the last run:

130740 (SEQ ID NO 12) GCTCGAAACATCCAACATCC

130741 (SEQ ID NO 13) GCTGTGAATCACTTGCACC

131928 (SEQ ID NO 14) CTTCATAAACTGCGACAAATCATGC

131929 (SEQ ID NO 15) GGAGGAGCATCTTCGC

131930 (SEQ ID NO 16) GGAACTTGAAGACTTTACTTCATCC

134608 (SEQ ID NO 17) CCAGAAACTCGCTAACACC

134609 (SEQ ID NO 18) GTGCTTTGCGGACGC

134610 (SEQ ID NO 19) CAGGACAGTAGGACGC

135320 (SEQ ID NO 20) CGAGCGATGAACTCTGC

135321 (SEQ ID NO 21) GCGTTGGTGGATTATCC

136105 (SEQ ID NO 22) CGTTGCATCTATCATATACC

136106 (SEQ ID NO 23) GGTATATGATAGATGCAACGC

The 3825 bp sequence hereby determined (SEQ ID NO 1) was translated in the frame previously determined in the PCR fragment. The resulting protein (SEQ ID NO 2) called Ao.MSH2 was aligned to the protein sequences of known mismatch repair proteins in Figure 3. From the alignment in shown in Figure 3 the cloned and sequenced DNA clearly encompasses the coding sequence for a homolog of yeast, man and mouse mismatch repair proteins, with one intron in the N-terminal part. The position of the intron was deduced by the standard splice rules, and constitutes the only possibility.

EXAMPLE 3 :

Disruption of the gene cloned in example 1 on the chromosome of an Aspergillus oryzae cell:

For the disruption experiment the msh.2 CDS was deleted from pUC19msh2P (see example 2) by PCR, introducing a Notl site instead. This was done by the primers:

137208 (SEQ ID NO 24): 5' P-CCGCGTCTCCAACAAGATGAATGG 137207 (SEQ ID NO 25): 5' P-CCGCTTTCTCGGGGTCATAGC

In a Pwo polymerase based PCR reaction with 2,5 mM MgS0₄ and 50 pg pUC19msh2P (conditions according to the manufacturer) :

PCR-cycle profile: [96°C; 2min - 4 cycles of (94°C; 30s - 52°C;30s - 72°C; 3min) - 25 cycles of (94°C; 30s - 59°C; 30s - 72°C; 3min) - 72°C; lOmin]

The resulting PCR product of appr. 8.9 Kb was isolated, ligated into pUC19, and transformed into E. coli XL1. From the resulting transformants pMsh2Δ was isolated, and the correctness of the new junction and its surroundings verified by sequencing [primer 138149 (SEQ ID NO 26) : CCTTTCCACTTTAATCCTAAGC] . (Xll/pMsh2Δ: Lac3073) .

In this construct it the A . oryzae pyrG (WO 96/29391) is inserted into the Notl site.

By using this construct the chromosomal gene is deleted in an Aspergillus oryzae cell according to standard techniques known in the art for crossing in such a deleted gene on the chromosome by homologous recombination (Miller, B.L., et al . , 1985 Mol. and Cell. Biol. 5:1714-1721).

EXAMPLE 4:

Construction of a plasmid comprising the mismatch repair gene shown in SEQ ID NO 1, the AMAl replication initiating sequence; and the AmdS selectable marker:

The plasmid constructed as described below is highly suitable for making a filamentous fungal cell wherein the mismatch repair system may be transitorily inactivated, wherein this plasmid may be inserted into a mismatch disrupted strain of example 3 when the mismatch repair system shall be activated and deleted from the strain when the mismatch repair system shall be inactivated.

Disruption of the mismatch repair gene may cause the accumulation of new chromosomal mutations, thus such a strain might be genetically unstable. Consequently it was decided to perform the chromosomal disruption in a strain where mismatch repair gene was expressed from an extra chromosomal element readily lost when the Δmismatch repair phenotype was wanted.

The extra-chromosomal element was here a plasmid comprising AMAl as replication initiating sequence and AmdS as selectable marker. For this purpose the mismatch repair gene (SEQ ID NO 1) was cloned into an autonomously replicating construct harbouring one AMAl repeat .

From pMT1505 (See example 5 below for description of pMT1505) the following fragments were isolated and ligated together:

5.16 kb Notl- [Hind3] * + 3.515 kb [Sal] *-BamHl + 757bp BamHl- Notl

[ ] * indicates that the site has been filled in by Klenow-polymerase and dNTP

From this ligation reaction pMT1505DHS was isolated (LaC 3212), and the mismatch repair expression cassette was introduced as a BamHl - Muni fragment in the corresponding 25 sites in pMT1505DHS, resulting in the plasmid pAma-msh2 (LaC 3216) .

Aspergillus oryzae JaL250 (see example 5) was transformed

AmdS⁺ with pAma-msh2, and the transformants cheked for the ability to lose the amdS character when unselected (50% of the transformants) , indicating the maintanance of this plasmid as extra chromosomal. (LaC3244 keep on acetamide + uridine) .

EXAMPLE 5 : Construction of plasmid pMT1505 used in example 4: Plasmids pMT1505: constructed as described below in Example 5 pHelpl : contains the pyrG gene from A . oryzae as a selective marker and the AMAl sequences which enable autonomous replication in A . nidulans as described by Gems, D., et al . (1991. Gene 98: 61-67) pToC68: as described in EP 0 531 372 (Novo Nordisk A/S)

Strains JaL250: a derivative of Aspergill us oryzae A1560 in which the pyrG gene has been inactivated, as described in WO 98/01470 DH5a : an E . col i host cell purchased from GIBCO BRL (Life Technologies, Inc., Rockville MD)

pMT1466 was constructed by inserting an Sphl/Narl fragment from pHelpl into pToC68. pMT1489 was constructed by digesting pMT1466 with Sphl and Stul, then religating. pMTl500 was constructed by digesting pMT1489 with Aatll and Narl and ligating a linker. pMT1504 was constructed by digesting pMT1500 with Nhel and religating. pMT1505 was constructed by inserting a 2.7 kb Xbal fragment containing the amdS encoding gene from A . nidulans genomic DNA (Corrick, C ., et al . 1987, Gene 53:63-71) into pMT1504 which had been cut with Nhel . EXAMPLE 6 :

Deletion of part of the mshll gene on the chromosome

The plasmid p418MsHII (from lac3159) is cut with Sail and Xhol and treated with calf-intestmal phosphatase. In this manner part of the msHI I gene is cut out. The large band (6400 bp) containing the vector and most of the msHI I gene is isolated from a 1% agarose gel.

The plasmid pJal554 was constructed by ligating a Spel/SspBI cut fragment (5330 bp) from pS02 with a Asp718/Nhel cut fragment (316 bp) from pS02. Plasmid pJal554 is cut with Sail and a 2350 bp band which contains the pyrG gene is isolated on a 1% agarose gel. The 2350bp band with pyrG is ligated with the cut p418MsHII plasmid and transformed into E . col l . The right E . col i transformant is identified by restriction analysis and a plasmid preparation is made from this transformant.

The plasmid thus prepared is cut with £coRI m order to linearize the plasmid before it is transformed into for example Aspergill us oryzae Jal250. Transformants are selected on mini- mal plates .

A transformant where a double crossover event has taken place is identified by making an Aspergillus chromosomal DNA prep followed by a PCR screen for full-length mshll gene using appropriate primers. A Southern blot is made using chromosomal DNA which is randomly fragmented with appropriate enzymes as well as appropriate probes for the deleted msHI I fragment (which is not there any longer) as well as a positive control probe .

In order to determine an increased mutation frequency m the strain with an inactivated msHII gene, a screen for mutations in the niaD gene is made. This is done by growing the parent strain Aspergill us Jal250 and the msHI I inactivated strain on plates .

A spore-suspension is made and aliquotes of spores are plated on chlorate-containing plate as described by Unkles et al . (S. E. Unkles, E.C.Campbell. Y.M.J.T. de Ruite Jacobs, M. Broekhuisen, J.A. Macro, D.Carrez, R. Contreras, CA.M.J.J. van den Hondel J.R. Kinghorn. The development of a homologous transformation system for Aspergill us oryzae based on nitrate assimilation pathway: A convenient and general selection system for filamentous fungal transformation. Molecular and general genetics V:218 p 99-104 (1989)).

The strain with no expression of the MsHII protein will have a higher rate of niaD mutations (more chlorate resistant clones), than the control strain.

EXAMPLE 7 :

Making Jn Vivo antisense msHIΪ RNA to inhibit translation of msHII mRNA using the TAKA promoter to drive transcription of the Anti-sense mRNA Anti-sense RNA expression is a well known way to down regulate expression of any gene in vivo (The design of Antisense RNA , Georg Sczakiel , Antisense and nucleic acid drug development V. 7 P. 439-444 (1997))

A per fragment is made using the oligo's: 000120j 2 (SEQ ID NO 27) : TCTGCGAATCGCTTGGATCCCGAACGCGACAACAC, 000120J (SEQ ID NO 28): GAGCTCAGATCTCTTAGGTTCTGGACGAGAAGA, and pUC19msh2P as template. This PCR fragment contains the 5 "end of the msHII gene including the presumed part of 5' msHII mRNA. Another PCR fragment is made using the oligo's: 000120J3 (SEQ ID NO 29) : GTTGTCGCGTTCGGGATCCAAGCGATTCGCAGAAG, 1298-TAKA (SEQ ID NO 30) : GCAAGCGCGCGCAATACATGGTGTTTTGATCAT, and pENI1298 as template (PCT DK99/00552) .

Both PCR reactions are done using PWO polymerase according to the manufacturers manual (Boehringer-Mannheim) . The PCR fragments are purified using the Qiagen PCR purification kit (Qiagen) . The two PCR fragments are mixed and a third PCR reaction is done with primer 1298-TAKA and 000120J4. In this manner the two PCR fragments are assembled.

The assembled PCR fragment is cut with BssHII and Bglll, and purified from a 1.5 % agarose gel and ligated with pENI1298 which was cut with BssHII and Bgl II (purified from 1 % agarose gel) . The ligation mixture is transformed into E . col l . A DNA- prep is made of each of the resulting E . col i transformants . The assembled PCR fragment is sequenced to confirm that no unwanted mutations are introduced during the procedure. The cor- rect construct contains the TAKA promoter, which drives the transcription of the msHII anti-sense mRNA.

The resulting plasmid is transformed into for example Aspergil l us oryzae Jal250 along with pENI1298 as control, and transformant are selected on minimal plates. The resulting transformants are isolated on minimal plates and incubated at 37°C until they sporulate.

In order to determine an increased mutation frequency m the strain, where the translation of the msHI I mRNA is impeded due to insHI I anti-sense RNA expression, a screen for mutations in the niaD gene is made. A spore-suspension is prepared of the control transformants (pENιl298) and of the msHII Anti-sense RNA transformants, and equal amounts of spores are plated on to chlorate-containing plate as described by Unkles et al . (S. E. Unkles, E.C.Campbell. Y.M.J.T. de Ruite Jacobs, M. Broekhui- sen, J.A. Macro, D.Carrez, R. Contreras, CA.M.J.J. van den Hondel J.R. Kinghorn. The development of a homologous transformation system for Aspergillus oryzae based on nitrate assimilation pathway: A convenient and general selection system for filamentous fungal transformation. Molecular and general genet- lcs V:218 p 99-104 (1989)).

The strain with no or low expression of the MsHII protein will have a higher rate of niaD mutations (more chlorate resistant clones), than the control strain.

Claims

1. A filamentous fungal cell, wherein a gene involved in the mismatch repair system has been inactivated and in which the gene involved in the mismatch repair system comprises:

(a) a DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 683-758 of SEQ ID NO 2; or

(b) a DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide sequence which is at least 70% identical to the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 683-758 of SEQ ID NO 2.

2. A filamentous fungal cell, wherein a gene involved in the mismatch repair system has been inactivated and in which the gene involved in the mismatch repair system comprises:

(a) a DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 1-940 of SEQ ID NO 2; or

(b) a DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide sequence which is at least 70% identical to the polypeptide sequence shown in positions 1-940 of SEQ ID NO 2.

3. The filamentous fungal cell of claim 1 or 2 , wherein the gene involved in the mismatch repair is defective.

4. The filamentous fungal cell of claim 1 or 2 , wherein the gene involved in the mismatch repair has been inactivated transitorily.

5. The filamentous fungal cell of any of the preceding claims, wherein the filamentous fungal cell is a strain of Fusarium or more preferably Aspergillus .

6. A process for preparing a filamentous fungal cell population wherein individual cells in the population comprise individually different DNA sequences of interest representing a DNA library of interest comprising following steps : (a) placing individually different DNA sequences of interest in a filamentous fungal cell population comprising a filamentous fungal cell of claim 1 or 2 ; and (b) growing the population of (a) for a period of time allowing an individual DNA sequence of interest in the population to be duplicated at least once under conditions wherein the mismatch repair system gene of claim 1 or 2 has been inactivated.

7. The process of claim 6, wherein the mismatch repair system under step (b) is defective.

8. The process of claim 6, wherein the mismatch repair system under step (b) has been inactivated transitorily.

9. The process of any of claims 6-8, wherein the filamentous fungal cell is a strain of Fusarium or more preferably Aspergillus .

10. The process of any of claims 6-9, wherein, under step (b) of claim 6, there is an in vivo intergenic recombination of partially homologous DNA sequences of interest.

11. A process for production of a polypeptide of interest comprising the steps of claim 6 and wherein the DNA sequences of interest encode a polypeptide of interest and which further comprises following step: (c) selecting from the resultant population of filamentous fungal cells of step (b) of claim 6 a desired polypeptide of interest.

12. The process of claim 11, which further comprises following steps :

(d) an optionally step comprising modifying the amino acid sequence of the desired selected polypeptide of interest according to a particularly further specific need; (e) placing the DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest of step (c) of claim 11 or the modified polypeptide of interest of step (d) into a filamentous fungal cell which is suitable for large scale production of the polypeptide of interest;

(f) cultivating the filamentous fungal cell of step (e) in a fermentor of at least 10000 m3 under conditions

5 permitting expression of the polypeptide of interest; and

(g) isolating the polypeptide of interest.

13. The process of claim 12, wherein the filamentous fungal 10 cell which is suitable for large scale production of the polypeptide of interest of step (e) of claim 12 is another filamentous fungal cell as compared to the filamentous fungal cell of step (a) of claim 6.

15 14. The process of any of claims 11-13, wherein the polypeptide of interest is a polypeptide derived from a filamentous fungal cell.

15. The process of any of claims 11-14, wherein the polypeptide 20 of interest is an enzyme, such as an amylase, a protease, a cellulase, a lipase, a xylanase; a phospholipase .

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