Cryptogamie, Mycologie, 2018, 39 (3): 325-340 © 2018 Adac. Tous droits réservés doi/10.7872/crym/v39.iss3.2018.325 Detecting Manganese Peroxidase (MnP) gene in Ganoderma species Ana Cristina BOLAÑOS a,b , Vera Lúcia Ramos BONONI b , Jorge Mario LONDOÑO c , Andrés CASTILLO a , Vera María VITALI b , Adriana de Mello GUGLIOTTA b & Jaime Eduardo MUÑOZ c a Universidad del Valle, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología, calle 13 No. 100 - 00, Cali – Colombia b Instituto de Botânica, Av. Miguel Stéfano 3687, São Paulo, SP and Universidade Anhanguera/UNIDERP, Campo Grande, MS, Brasil c Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Palmira, Colombia, Carrera 32 No 12 - 00 Chapinero, Vía Candelaria, Palmira Valle del Cauca - Colombia Abstract. – Lignin degradation is achieved by a specifc group of enzymes known as Lignin- Modifying Enzymes (LME) where Manganese Peroxidase (MnP) plays a key role. Classifed as extracellular enzymes and produced by white-rot fungi (Basidiomycetes, Agaricomycotina, Polyporales), the MnP2 gene was detected in twelve isolates from Ganoderma australe, G. gibbosum, G. multiplicatum, G. parvulum and G. subamboinense collected as parasites in legume species, as well as saprophytes in logs from Brazil and Colombia. The presence of this enzyme was barely detected in liquid culture medium, and not at all in solid fermented culture. Analysis based on PCR-RFLP showed a considerable variability in fragment patterns for G. parvulum and G. subamboinense, however no discrimination was identifed for the other species. Sequence analyses from a partial MnP2 gene fragment (~700bp) demonstrated a high degree of similarity in gene structure among species, as well as conserved amino acid residues at the enzyme active sites, in four exons predicted for each isolate. Phylogenetic inference analysis with partial peroxidase sequences from polypore species supports the MnP2 clade for our isolates, although tree topology also indicated the polyphyletic nature of ligninolytic peroxidases, where possible scenarios such as multiple ancestor origin or a single origin with posterior diversifcation are discussed. Ganodermataceae / Neotropics / Phylogeny / White-rot fungi INTRODUCTION Lignin is the major constituent of plant cell wall responsible for their rigidity and protection (Evert & Einchhorn, 2013). Lignin degradation is a very important factor for carbon recycling in terrestrial environments and is mediated by a group of fungi known as white-rot fungi, classifed in the Basidiomycota phylum. * Corresponding author. Tel. + 57 2 3393243, ana.bolanos@correounivalle.edu.co