The technique makes use of an Escherichia coli strain expressing the redΑßΓ operon under the control of an inducible promoter. This enables the strain to carry out homologous recombination with only 50-60 bp of homologous sequence. The procedure does not require any DNA ligation and is very rapid. It allows a single gene or region on a cosmid to be replaced by a bi-functional selectable marker (having both an E. coli and an A. fumigatus marker). - [Read A Rapid Method for Generating Gene Deletions in Aspergillus fumigatus Protocol]
Gliotoxin is a metabolite of Aspergillus fumigatus that exhibits immunosuppressive activity against certain cells of the immune system. Secretion of gliotoxin during infection has been suggested as being a factor in the pathogenesis of aspergillosis. Gliotoxin secretion can be assayed in a number of ways by thin layer chromatography (TLC) high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or bioassay using the effect of gliotoxin on human cells1. - [Read Method for Assaying Gliotoxin Production in Aspergillus fumigatus Protocol]