During sclerotial infection of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum the mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans penetrates through the host cell wall, which contains beta-1,3-glucan as its major component. A PCR-based strategy was used to clone a beta-1,3-glucanase-encoding gene, designated cmg1, from a cDNA library of the fungus. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of this gene showed high levels of similarity to the sequences of other fungal exo-beta-1,3-glucanase genes. The calculated molecular mass of the deduced protein (without the predicted 24-amino-acid N-terminal secretion signal peptide) was 83,346 Da, and the estimated pI was 4.73. Saccharomyces cerevisiae INVSc1 expressing the cmg1 gene secreted a approximately 100-kDa beta-1,3-glucanase enzyme (as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) into the culture medium. N-terminal sequence analysis of the purified recombinant enzyme revealed that the secreted enzyme starts at Ala-32, seven amino acids downstream from the predicted signal peptidase cleavage site. The purified recombinant glucanase inhibited in vitro mycelial growth of S. sclerotiorum by 35 and 85% at concentrations of 300 and 600 microg x ml(-1), respectively. A single copy of the cmg1 gene is present in the genome of C. minitans. Northern analyses indicated increases in the transcript levels of cmg1 due to both carbon starvation and the presence of ground sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum only slight repression was observed in the presence of 2% glucose. Expression of cmg1 increased during parasitic interaction with S. sclerotiorum.