We previously developed two methods (loop-out and replacement-type recombination) for generating large-scale chromosomal deletions that can be applied to more effective chromosomal engineering in Aspergillus oryzae. In this study, the replacement-type method is used to systematically delete large chromosomal DNA segments to identify essential and nonessential regions in chromosome 7 (2.93 Mb), which is the smallest A. oryzae chromosome and contains a large number of nonsyntenic blocks. We constructed 12 mutants harboring deletions that spanned 16-to 150-kb segments of chromosome 7 and scored phenotypic changes in the resulting mutants. Among the deletion mutants, strains designated ⌬5 and ⌬7 displayed clear phenotypic changes involving growth and conidiation. In particular, the ⌬5 mutant exhibited vigorous growth and conidiation, potentially beneficial characteristics for certain industrial applications. Further deletion analysis allowed identification of the AO090011000215 gene as the gene responsible for the ⌬5 mutant phenotype. The AO090011000215 gene was predicted to encode a helix-loophelix binding protein belonging to the bHLH family of transcription factors. These results illustrate the potential of the approach for identifying novel functional genes.Aspergillus oryzae is regarded as an industrially important koji mold utilized in commercial enzyme production and the traditional fermentative manufacture of foods such as sake, soy sauce, and miso in Japan (8). In spite of its industrial significance and recently available genome sequence (10, 12), techniques for gene manipulation in A. oryzae have not yet been developed extensively. In particular, gene-targeting efficiency is very low, making gene disruption difficult. Recently, this problem was solved by disrupting the ku genes involved in the nonhomologous end-joining pathway (2,5,14). Reportedly, the ku-disrupted strains markedly enhance the gene-targeting frequency compared to the A. oryzae parent strain (19).Using a ku70-disrupted strain, we have developed two methods (loop-out and replacement-type recombination) to efficiently construct large-scale chromosomal deletion mutants of A. oryzae (16,17). Using the two methods, we have successfully constructed aflatoxin cluster-deleted A. oryzae. Generally, the replacement-type recombination (direct-deletion) method could be used for single deletions, while the loop-out-type recombination (5-fluoroorotic acid [5-FOA] selection) method enables construction of multiple deletions in a single strain by marker recycling. The potential merits of functional analysis by large-scale deletion include (i) identification of essential genes and construction of an experimental minimal gene set, (ii) detection of phenotypic change by simultaneously deleting multiple genes, (iii) greater convenience and increased efficiency than the single-gene disruption technique, and (iv) the possibility of isolating an industrially useful strain.Here, we demonstrate a novel approach for identifying functional genes in A. oryzae chromos...