Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH), an extracellular flavocytochrome produced by several wood-degrading fungi, was detected in the culture supernatant of the selective delignifier Phlebia lindtneri maintained on a cellulose-based liquid medium. Cellobiose dehydrogenase was purified to homogeneity by a rapid procedure, using ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, and chromatofocusing. The enzyme was recovered with a 61.2 fold increased specific activity and a yield.of 47.5%. As determined by SDS-PAGE, the molecular mass of the purified enzyme was found to be 104.5 kDa and its isoelectric point was 4.0. The carbohydrate content of the purified enzymes was 22%. In this work, the cellobiose dehydrogenase gene cdh1 and its corresponding cDNA from fungi Phlebia lidnteri were isolated, cloned, and characterized. The 2319 bp full-length cDNA of cdhl encoded a mature CDH protein containing 755 amino acids, which was preceded by a signal peptide of 17 amino acids. The deduced protein sequence of cdh1 shared significant similarity with other known fungal cellobiose dehydrogenase. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.