This invention relates to a novel DNA or a derivative thereof concerning the expression and secretion of a phenoloxidase gene originating in a basidiomycete (particularly a white rot fungus such as, for example Coriolus hirsutus IFO 4917) possessing the ability to produce and secrete a phenoloxidase, a novel organism containing the DNA and a protein-coding DNA, and a method for the production of proteins by the use of the novel organisms. The aforementioned "DNA concerning expression" generally refers as to a region existent on the upstream side of a structural gene and necessary for the initiation of transcription (promoter) and to a region existent on the downstream side thereof and necessary for the termination of the transcription (poly A signal or terminator), for example. The "DNA concerning secretion" generally refers to a DNA which codes a signal peptide. The aforementioned "DNA derivative" includes a still longer derivative accompanying a flanking sequence and variants associated with fragment of the DNA mentioned above, substitution of a nucleotide of the aforementioned DNA, insertion of a nucleotide, deletion of nucleotide, inversion of a nucleotide sequence, and other forms of mutation. These derivatives are obtained naturally, synthetically, or semisynthetically.