To detect and clone a cellobiohydrolase (CBH) gene of Corticium rolfsii, synthetic oligonucleotide primers were designed on the basis of the homology among known CBH fungi genes and submitted to a.Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The PCR amplified a DNA fragment of about 210 base pairs which was then cloned and sequenced.

The nucleotide sequence (215 base pairs long) exhibited high homology to the CBH genes of the subject fungi and contained a putative intron sequence. The amino acid sequence deduced from the PCR product showed about 60% homology to the CBH of the subject fungi. When a carefully controlled genomic southern hybridization of C. rolfsii was performed using the PCR product as a probe, one or two bands were detected.