A homolog of Aspergillus nidulans pdcA that is probably one of the most highly expressed in Aspergillus oryzae ATCC 22788 was isolated, as measured by the frequency among randomly selected 324 expressed sequence tags. It has an 1,632 bp open reading frame for a polypeptide of about 60 kDa. Its amino acid sequence revealed 74% identity and 84% similarity to that of A. nidulans pyruvate decarboxylase.