Novel promoter sequence required for inductive expression of the Aspergillus nidulans endoglucanase gene eglA.

Expression of the eglA gene, encoding for a major endoglucanse EG A in Aspergillus nidulans, is induced by cellulose and cellobiose, but not by xylose. This suggests that induction is independent of XlnR, a transcriptional activator of xylanolytic and cellulolytic genes in Aspergillus. Mutational analysis of the eglA promoter was performed to identify the novel cis-element responsible for XlnR-independent induction. The region spanning -153 to -138 (CCGTACCTTTTTAGGA), designated CeR-E(Cellulose Responsive Element), was found to be the upstream activating element essential to inductive expression of the eglA gene.