米曲霉基因工程技术的进展

丝状真菌米曲霉(Aspergillus oryzae)是发酵工业的重要菌株,具有强大的蛋白分泌能力和公认的食品安全性,可作为表达外源蛋白的细胞工厂。然而利用米曲霉分泌生产外源蛋白质常会受限于一些瓶颈问题:包括转录、翻译、蛋白质折叠、易位、降解、运输和分泌等。这些问题的存在导致米曲霉外源蛋白生产很难达到预期的效果。近年来,随着全基因组序列的破译,米曲霉生产相关基础研究以及基因工程技术都得到了较好的发展。如提高同源重组效率、选择性标记基因应用技术、染色体大片段删除技术、菌丝融合技术和DNA芯片技术等。这些技术的开发和建立为米曲霉工业生产应用提供了大量技术支持。针对米曲霉在外源表达蛋白中存在的瓶颈问题,主要通过以下几个方面进行了阐述:转化系统的优化和转化效率的提高、蛋白酶基因缺陷菌株的构建、融合表达策略,以及优化其外源表达系统来提高外源蛋白生产等。这些米曲霉生产相关基础研究以及基因工程技术的进步很大程度上提高了米曲霉的生产应用,并为今后米曲霉生产菌株的育种提供了更多有效的途径和研究空间。     

提高蛋白质在米曲霉中表达量的策略

米曲霉是一种重要的微生物,在食品、酿造、商业酶和医用蛋白的生产中具有广泛的应用,该菌被美国食品与药品管理局(FDA)认定为GRAS(generally regarded as safe)级。讨论了提高同源和异源蛋白在米曲霉中表达量的几种策略,包括使用强启动子、多拷贝编码基因、优化培养基和超表达血红素结构域(HBD)等。异源蛋白容易被米曲霉蛋白酶降解,表达量往往较低,因此使用蛋白酶缺陷型宿主菌是非常必要的。另外将外源蛋白与米曲霉高分泌蛋白融合表达也是提高异源蛋白产量的有效途径。     

米曲霉异源蛋白表达系统研究进展及展望

米曲霉作为一种重要的工业微生物,在异源蛋白表达方面已有广泛应用,受限于被表达蛋白的修饰及分泌过程,目前实际生产使用的基因供体主要局限于其他真菌,尤其是丝状真菌。当外源基因来源于植物、昆虫和哺乳动物时,米曲霉所生产的异源蛋白产量及生物活性往往不尽如人意。本文综述了米曲霉作为宿主表达异源蛋白的研究进展,包括其现有的遗传操作手段及异源表达方面的应用及探索,重点介绍了应用过程中面临的挑战和解决策略,另外,对米曲霉表达异源蛋白的应用前景及发展方向进行了展望。     

用于药用蛋白生产的外源表达系统

种表达系统在重组蛋白生产上将长期共存.而通过遗传改造、基因组学、蛋白质组学等研究方法不断改进各种外源蛋白表达系统的性能,不断建立更加优越的外源蛋白表达系统则是大家共同努力的目标.     

毕赤酵母表达系统外源基因表达序列优化的软件设计

作为真核生物表达系统,毕赤酵母已成功表达了包括病毒、细菌和真核生物在内的多种外源蛋白。但并非所有的外源序列在毕赤酵母中都能得以高表达,外源序列含有毕赤酵母中低频密码子或是序列中A T含量不合理是限制高表达的重要原因。根据毕赤酵母密码子使用的有关特性,利用遗传算法,建立外源基因表达序列优化的数学模型,并依此设计一套毕赤酵母外源基因表达序列的优化软件。     

米曲霉FleA基因的原核表达及纯化

目的研究米曲霉FleA基因克隆菌株的构建及米曲霉凝集素(Aspergillus oryzae lectin, AOL)蛋白表达。方法培养米曲霉RIB40,TRIzol法提取米曲霉RNA,用反转录试剂盒合成FleA全基因,设计引物扩增FleA基因,并将此片段与PJET克隆质粒连接构建克隆菌株,经双酶切筛选出阳性克隆菌株送去测序,将序列正确的克隆菌与表达载体pET-28a(+)分别经过双酶切后连接,转化到宿主菌E.coil BL21,IPTG诱导AOL目的蛋白表达,SDS-PAGE检测分析。结果 PCR成功扩增获得FleA基因,大小约950 bp,成功连接至PJET克隆载体后,经双酶切回收后又与pET-28a(+)成功连接,经过IPTG诱导后SDS-PAGE检测结果显示目的基因成功表达。结论该研究成功构建了米曲霉FleA基因,获得了表达蛋白,为今后结构和功能研究奠定了一定的基础。     

表达外源蛋白的有利工具-毕赤酵母表达系统

巴斯得毕赤酵母(Pichiapastoris)作为80年代开发的一种表达系统,在外源蛋白的表达方面具有独特的优势,被广泛用于医药领域和科学研究.本文介绍了酵母的生物学特性、常用茵株和表达载体的特点及其研究进展,并从外源基因本身序列的内在特性和酵母发酵外源性因素两个方面,对影响外源蛋白表达的因素进行详细阐述.     

米曲霉葡萄糖淀粉酶基因glaB启动子研究概况

米曲霉表达系统与大肠杆菌表达系统和酵母表达系统相比有许多优点,目前绝大多数研究都关注如何提高米曲霉在液体发酵条件下生产蛋白质,但米曲霉在固体培养条件下生产多种蛋白的能力比在液体培养条件下强,这不仅与米曲霉在不同培养条件下的生长形态有关,还与不同代谢途径中特定基因的调控因子如启动子的特性有关。米曲霉葡萄糖淀粉酶基因glaB在固体培养条件下的表达效率明显高于其在液体培养条件下的效率,以葡萄糖淀粉酶基因glaB为例,综述了glaB启动子的研究概况,为今后更好地利用这类启动子提供参考。     

毕赤酵母表达系统在外源蛋白表达中的研究及应用

巴斯得毕赤酵母（Pichia pastoris）表达系统作为一个日臻完善的外源蛋白真核表达系统由于它所具有的一些其它表达系统不可比拟的优势而得到越来越广泛的应用。分别从该表达系统的优点、外源基因整合及调控机理、表达蛋白糖基化及翻译后修饰等方面综述了其在外源蛋白表达中的研究进展及应用。     

后基因组时代的丝状真菌基因组学与代谢工程

丝状真菌不仅是传统发酵工业中抗生素、酶制剂和有机酸的主要生产者,而且也是代谢工程育种中异源蛋白表达的重要细胞工厂。丝状真菌的遗传修饰和代谢工程研究是现代工业生物技术领域最具活力的研究方向之一。特别是与细菌和酵母相比,丝状真菌在细胞生长、营养需求、环境适应性、翻译后修饰、蛋白分泌能力和生物安全性等方面具有显著的优势。文章综述了丝状真菌作为异源蛋白表达系统在基因组学技术研究和代谢工程研究方面的最新进展。作者在分析丝状真菌基因组结构、特点的基础上,阐述了比较基因组学、蛋白质组学、转录组学和代谢组学等对丝状真菌的代谢途径重构、新型蛋白挖掘和代谢工程育种中的作用和意义。另一方面,作者分析了丝状真菌在表达外源蛋白时遇到的瓶颈问题,总结了丝状真菌代谢工程育种中的常用策略包括异源基因的融合表达、反义核酸技术、蛋白分泌途径改造、密码子优化和蛋白酶缺陷宿主的选育等技术和手段。最后,对该领域的发展趋势进行了展望。     

固态发酵生产微生物脂肪酶的研究进展

脂肪酶在水相和非水相中都具有催化活性,在众多工业领域应用前景十分广阔。但脂肪酶的生产成本仍然过高,限制了其在某些工业领域的大规模使用。固体发酵因具有设备比较简单、能耗低、成本低、对环境危害小、易于推广等诸多优点,已逐渐成为微生物脂肪酶生产的一个重要方式。由于能源成本的抬高和人们环保意识的加强,自上世纪90年代以来,原来一直认为技术含量较低的固态发酵技术重新受到重视并得到了快速的发展。综述了固态发酵在脂肪酶生产中的应用研究,重点介绍了固态发酵生产脂肪酶的特点、脂肪酶固态发酵的影响因素及其生物反应器。     

Monitoring global gene expression of proteases and improvement of human lysozyme production in the nptB gene disruptant of Aspergillus oryzae

Aspergillus oryzae has numerous protease genes that might cause proteolytic degradation of heterologously-produced proteins. The productivity of the heterologous protein can be improved by protease gene disruption, but it is difficult to select disruption targets efficiently. In this study, we monitored the expression of 132 protease genes by DNA microarray. A group of protease genes up-regulated during cultivation was identified by clustering analysis. In this protease group, the nptB gene encoding neutral protease II was included as well as the alpA, tppA, and pepA genes, disruption of which has improved human lysozyme (HLY) production. The nptB gene was disrupted to investigate its involvement in HLY production, and nptB disruptants showed an improvement in the production. These observations suggest that monitoring the expression of protease genes is an efficient strategy in screening potential disruption targets for heterologous protein production in A. oryzae.     

Using DNA-tagged mutagenesis to improve heterologous protein production in Aspergillus oryzae

Using DNA-tagged mutagenesis to improve heterologous protein production in Aspergillus oryzae. Fungal Genetics and Biology 29, 28-37. Restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) has been employed as a mutagen to generate two insertion libraries in an Aspergillus oryzae strain expressing a Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase. The REMI libraries were created using linearized plasmid containing the A. oryzae pyrG and either BamHI or EcoRI enzyme. The libraries were screened for lipase production, and mutants with increased production were isolated. The genomic DNA flanking the integration event was cloned from one of the mutants with increased lipase titers (DEBY10.3). Nucleotide sequence of the flanking DNA revealed similarity to the Aspergillus nidulans palB gene. Disruption of the palB gene in a strain producing lipase resulted in increased lipase expression. Additionally, complementation of the palB phenotype of DEBY10.3 led to a decrease in lipase production. These lines of evidence demonstrate that the increase in lipase yield in DEBY10.3 is linked to the palB phenotype generated by the integration of the pyrG gene into the palB gene. The results also demonstrated that tagged mutagenesis with REMI can be used to identify genes that influence expression of heterologous proteins.     

Improved heterologous protein production by a tripeptidyl peptidase gene (<i>AosedD</i>) disruptant of the filamentous fungus <i>Aspergillus oryzae</i>

Proteolytic degradation is one of the serious bottlenecks limiting the yields of heterologous protein production by Aspergillus oryzae. In this study, we selected a tripeptidyl peptidase gene AosedD (AO090166000084) as a candidate potentially degrading the heterologous protein, and performed localization analysis of the fusion protein AoSedD-EGFP in A. oryzae. As a result, the AoSedD-EGFP was observed in the septa and cell walls as well as in the culture medium, suggesting that AoSedD is a secretory enzyme. An AosedD disruptant was constructed to investigate an effect of AoSedD on the production level of heterologous proteins and protease activity. Both of the total protease and tripeptidyl peptidase activities in the culture medium of the AosedD disruptant were decreased as compared to those of the control strain. The maximum yields of recombinant bovine chymosin (CHY) and human lysozyme (HLY) produced by the AosedD disruptants showed approximately 2.9- and 1.7-fold increases, respectively, as compared to their control strains. These results suggest that AoSedD is one of the major proteases involved in the proteolytic degradation of recombinant proteins in A. oryzae.     

Role of N-terminal 28-amino-acid region of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizopus oryzae</Emphasis> lipase in directing proteins to secretory pathway of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus oryzae</Emphasis>

To develop a new approach for improving heterologous protein production in Aspergillus oryzae, we focused on the functional role of the N-terminal region of Rhizopus oryzae lipase (ROL). Several N-terminal deletion variants of ROL were expressed in A. oryzae. Interestingly, a segment of 28 amino acids from the C-terminal region of the propeptide (N28) was found to be critical for secretion of ROL into the culture medium. To further investigate the role of N28, the ROL secretory process was visualized in vivo using ROL-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion proteins. In cells producing ROL with N28, fluorescence observations showed that the fusion proteins are transported through endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi, and cell wall, which is one of the typical secretory processes in a eukaryotic cell. Because the expression of the mature ROL-GFP fusion protein induced fluorescence accumulation without its translocation into the ER, N28 is considered to play a crucial role in protein transport. When N28 was inserted between the secretion signal and GFP, fluorescence observations showed that GFP, which is originally a cytoplasmic protein, was efficiently translocated into the ER of A. oryzae, resulting in an enhanced secretion of mature GFP after proteolytic cleavage of N28. These findings suggest that N28 facilitates protein translocation into ER and can be a promising candidate for improving heterologous protein production in A. oryzae.     

Establishment of a hyper-protein production system in submerged Aspergillus oryzae culture under tyrosinase-encoding gene (melO) promoter control

UV-mediated mutagenesis generated a high glucoamylase-producing mutant of Aspergillus oryzae exhibiting strong melanization in solid-state culture. Expression of the glucoamylase-encoding gene (glaB), which is specifically expressed in solid-state culture, and the tyrosinase-encoding gene (melO), was analyzed using an E. coli beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter assay to investigate this phenomenon. Although no common regulation was found for melO and glaB expression, the former was greatly enhanced in submerged culture. Interestingly, the melO promoter was about four times stronger for GUS production than the powerful promoters amyB, glaA, and modified agdA, previously isolated for industrial heterologous gene expression in A. oryzae. These findings indicated that the melO promoter would be suitable for hyper-production of heterologous protein in Aspergillus. The glaB-type glucoamylase selected as the target protein was produced in a submerged culture of A. oryzae under the control of the melO promoter. The maximum yield was 0.8 g/l broth, and the total extracellular protein purity was 99%. Repeated batch culture, to improve productivity, gave a maximum yield of 3.3 g/l broth. The importance of this work is in the establishment of a both high-level and high-purity protein overproduction system in A. oryzae by use of the melO promoter.     

Modulating Endoplasmic Reticulum-Golgi Cargo Receptors for Improving Secretion of Carrier-Fused Heterologous Proteins in the Filamentous Fungus Aspergillus oryzae

Filamentous fungi are excellent hosts for industrial protein production due to their superior secretory capacity; however, the yield of heterologous eukaryotic proteins is generally lower than that of fungal or endogenous proteins. Although activating protein folding machinery in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) improves the yield, the importance of intracellular transport machinery for heterologous protein secretion is poorly understood. Here, using Aspergillus oryzae as a model filamentous fungus, we studied the involvement of two putative lectin-like cargo receptors, A. oryzae Vip36 (AoVip36) and AoEmp47, in the secretion of heterologous proteins expressed in fusion with the endogenous enzyme α-amylase as the carrier. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that mDsRed-tagged AoVip36 localized in the Golgi compartment, whereas AoEmp47 showed localization in both the ER and the Golgi compartment. Deletion of AoVip36 and AoEmp47 improved heterologous protein secretion, but only AoVip36 deletion had a negative effect on the secretion of α-amylase. Analysis of ER-enriched cell fractions revealed that AoVip36 and AoEmp47 were involved in the retention of heterologous proteins in the ER. However, the overexpression of each cargo receptor had a different effect on heterologous protein secretion: AoVip36 enhanced the secretion, whereas AoEmp47 promoted the intracellular retention. Taken together, our data suggest that AoVip36 and AoEmp47 hinder the secretion of heterologous proteins by promoting their retention in the ER but that AoVip36 also promotes the secretion of heterologous proteins. Moreover, we found that genetic deletion of these putative ER-Golgi cargo receptors significantly improves heterologous protein production. The present study is the first to propose that ER-Golgi transport is a bottleneck for heterologous protein production in filamentous fungi.     

Approaches for refining heterologous protein production in filamentous fungi

Fungi combine the advantages of a microbial system such as a simple fermentability with the capability of secreting proteins that are modified according to a general eukaryotic scheme. Filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus niger efficiently secrete genuine proteins but the secretion of recombinant proteins turned out be a difficult task. Aspergillus niger is an attractive organism because of its high secretion capacity and is frequently used as a model organism. Whereas high production yields can be obtained when homologous proteins are expressed, much lower amounts are obtained with the production of heterologous proteins. To fully exploit the potential of filamentous fungi, understanding of the molecular genetics, their physiology, and the glycosylation metabolism has to be investigated and clarified in more detail. This review summarizes recent developments in heterologous protein production by filamentous fungi and also generalizes the possibilities of improving the protein production by various genetic and bioprocessing approaches, thereby easing recognition of filamentous fungi as a relevant and reliable expression platform.