Induction strategies in fed-batch cultures for recombinant protein production in Escherichia coli: Application to rhamnulose 1-phosphate aldolase

Different induction strategies for fed-batch recombinant protein production under the control of the strong T5 promoter in Escherichia coli have been investigated. Since the production of recombinant rhamnulose 1-phosphate aldolase is growth-related, the productivity of the process can be strongly reduced due to the negative effect of protein expression on cell growth. IPTG pulse induction as well as inducer dosage have been applied and their advantages and drawbacks highlighted. Both strategies led to high levels of the recombinant protein, 1000 AU g DCW⁻¹. Inducer concentration and inducer to biomass ratio were identified as the parameters influencing the rate of protein production and final enzymatic activity per gram of biomass. In pulse induction, the maximum enzymatic activity was found at inducer concentration of 70 μM. In continuous induction experiments, inducer concentrations between 4 and 12 μM were identified as the working range in which cell growth and recombinant protein accumulation occurred simultaneously. On the other hand, the amount of IPTG per gram of biomass required was 1.6 μmol IPTG gDCW⁻¹ in pulse induction and between 0.3 and 0.5 μmol IPTG g DCW⁻¹ in continuous induction.     

Influence of process temperature on recombinant enzyme activity in Escherichia coli fed-batch cultures

The influence of proteolysis over recombinant protein quality has been studied using rhamnulose 1-phosphate aldolase (RhuA) production as case example. Progressive induction by means of continuous isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) dosage in Escherichia coli fed-batch cultures led to high specific levels of recombinant protein. However, the specific activity profile did not correlate to the specific protein content when the process was run at 37 °C and there was a decrease of the enzyme activity along the induction phase. Specific activity loss depending on the presence of an energy source was observed at short term, but protein degradation due to the action of energy-independent metalloproteases occurred after a longer time period. The effects of lowering the temperature were analysed on both mechanisms, and a reduction of the specific activity loss was observed when the process temperature was decreased to 28 °C. Lower plasmid copy number and specific production rates probably alleviated the metabolic load on host cell during recombinant protein overexpression, and a high increase of the enzyme activity was achieved in high cell density fed-batch cultures under these conditions.     

Enhanced production of recombinant streptokinase in Escherichia coli using fed-batch culture

Fed-batch culture strategy is often used for increasing production of heterologous recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. This study was initiated to investigate the effects of dissolved oxygen concentration (DOC), complex nitrogen sources and pH control agents on cell growth and intracellular expression of streptokinase (SK) in recombinant E. coli BL21(DE3). Increase in DOC set point from 30% to 50% did not affect SK expression in batch culture where as similar increase in fed-batch cultivation led to a significant improvement in SK expression (from 188 to 720 mg l⁻¹). This increase in SK could be correlated with increase in plasmid segregational stability. Supplementation of production medium with yeast extract and tryptone and replacement of liquid ammonia with NaOH as pH control agent further enhanced SK expression without affecting cell growth. Overall, SK concentration of 1120 mg l⁻¹ representing 14-fold increase in SK production on process scale-up from flask to bioreactor scale fed-batch culture is the highest reported concentration of SK to date.     

Recombinant streptokinase production by fed-batch cultivation of Escherichia coli

Streptokinase (SK) is a specific effective medicine for thrombolytic therapy of acute myocardial infarction. This study established a process for the pilot production of recombinant streptokinase (r-SK). Engineering bacteria were fermented in a 20-l fermentor to produce r-SK. After simple renaturation and purification, 12.9 g of r-SK with 97.8% of purity and about 10⁵ IU mg⁻¹ of specific activity was obtained, the yield of protein and the recovery of activity were 44.9% and 51%, respectively. Finally, the r-SK was made into about 700 doses of injections for clinical applications.     

Segregation to non-dividing cells in recombinant Escherichia coli fed-batch fermentation processes

In Escherichia coli fermentation processes, a drastic drop in viable cell count as measured by the number of colony forming units per ml (c.f.u. ml^–1) is often observed. This phenomenon was investigated in a process for the production of the recombinant fusion protein, promegapoietin (PMP). After induction, the number of c.f.u. ml^–1 dropped to 10% of its maximum though the biomass concentration continued to increase. Flow cytometric analysis of viability and intracellular concentration of PMP showed that almost all cells were alive and contributed to the production. Thus, the drop in the number of c.f.u. ml^–1 probably reflects a loss of cell division capability rather than cell death.     

重组大肠杆菌全细胞催化高效合成胆绿素北大核心CSCD

胆绿素作为一种重要的保护细胞的抗氧化剂,其传统生产方法主要由胆红素的化学氧化产生,但过程复杂、纯度不高。本研究提出了一种高效、绿色、安全的生产胆绿素的方法。通过比较,筛选得到了破伤风梭状芽孢杆菌(Clostridium tetani)来源的血红素加氧酶(heme oxygenase,HO)基因,并成功构建具备转化血红素合成胆绿素能力的重组大肠杆菌(Escherichiacoli)BL21/pETDuet-hoCt。在pH 7.0、35℃、100 mg/L底物浓度条件下胆绿素产量为32.9 mg/L。为提高还原力,构建了基于谷氨酸脱氢酶(glutamate dehydrogenase,GdhA)的NADPH辅酶再生系统,获得重组菌E.coli BL21/pETDuet-gdhAEc-hoCt,胆绿素产量为71.5 mg/L。此外,通过引入膜表面展示系统,构建重组菌E.coli BL21/pETDuet-gdhAEc-blc/hoCt,缩短转化时间的同时,胆绿素产量进一步得到提高,达到76.3 mg/L,是目前生物法合成胆绿素的最高研究报道。本研究为胆绿素的绿色生产奠定了良好的基础。     

Glucose-controlled -isoleucine fed-batch production with recombinant strains of Corynebacterium glutamicum

-Isoleucine was produced in a fed-batch bioprocess with -leucine auxotrophic Corynebacterium glutamicum strains developed by genetic engineering. An efficient supply with nutrients was achieved by applying closed-loop control of glucose as the main carbon source, with a model-based, parameter-adaptive control strategy. This control strategy is based on an extended, semi-continuous Kalman filter for process identification and a minimum variance controller. The lab scale fed-batch process with C. glutamicum SM1 and C. glutamicum DR17 pECM3::ilvA38 was characterized with respect to biomass, product and by-product accumulation. A differential analysis of growth, specific productivities, and selectivities was performed to characterize the carbon flow over process time. Characterization of -isoleucine transport steps across the cell membrane resulted in a balance of -isoleucine transport over process time. Up to an extracellular -isoleucine concentration of 140 mM the cytosolic -isoleucine, provided by the biosynthesis, was quantitatively excreted into the medium via the export carrier system. Optimized feeding profiles for -leucine and phosphate in correlation with the on-line estimated glucose consumption were achieved up to the pilot scale (300-1 stirred tank reactor). The maximum -isoleucine concentration was 150 mM (21 g l⁻¹) with a space-time yield of 4.3 mmol l⁻¹ h⁻¹. With a 98% closed carbon balance the selectivity for isoleucine was 14%, for biomass 13%, and for CO₂ 68%.     

Feasibility study of exponential feeding strategy in fed-batch cultures for phenol degradation using Cupriavidus taiwanensis

An indigenous phenol-degrading bacterial isolate Cupriavidus taiwanensis R186 was used to degrade phenol from an aqueous solution under fed-batch operation. An exponential feeding strategy combined with dissolved oxygen control was applied based on kinetic characteristics of cell growth and phenol degradation to meet sufficient metabolic needs for cellular growth and achieve the best phenol removal efficiency. Without the stress of phenol inhibition, the optimal set point of specific growth rate of exponential feeding for fed-batch phenol degradation was found to be 0.50–0.55μ_max (μ_max denotes the maximum specific growth rate from Monod model). Meanwhile, the sufficient set point of dissolved oxygen for maximal phenol degradation efficiency was approximately at 10–55% air saturation. With the optimal operation conditions, the best phenol degradation rate was 0.213 g phenol h⁻¹, while a shortest treatment time of 15 h was achieved for complete degradation of 11.35 mM (ca. 3.20 g) of phenol.     

Production of excreted human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) by an efficient recombinant Escherichia coli system

Recombinant Escherichia coli JM101 strains harbouring plasmids pWKW2 or lacUV5par8EGF, both encoding human epidermal growth factor (hEGF), were used in fermentations to optimize levels of excreted hEGF. Medium composition, inducer level, growth stage at induction and culture conditions, were optimized with respect to volumetric production of the recombinant protein. MMBL medium, with glucose at 5 g/l and tryptone as nitrogen source, was chosen. Isopropyl-β- -thiogalactopyranoside(IPTG) concentrations of 0.1 mM for E. coli JM101[pWKW2] and 0.2 mM for E. coli K-12 JM101[lacUV5par8EGF], were found to give the best hEGF production levels. The volumetric yields of hEGF were maximal when the cultures were induced in the mid-logarithmic phase. Growth temperature had a significant effect on hEGF yield. A simple continuous fed-batch process for cultivation of E. coli JM101[pWKW2] was developed. The maximum concentration of excreted hEGF attained in continuous fed-batch cultivation was 325 mg/l, as compared to 175 mg/l, in batch cultivation. The hEGF produced from the continuous fed-batch cultivation was substantiated by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting.     

产麦角硫因大肠杆菌工程菌株的构建与优化

麦角硫因(ergothioneine,ERG)是一种天然的抗氧化剂,广泛应用于化妆品、食品以及医药领域.相比于传统植物提取和化学合成方法,微生物发酵合成麦角硫因具有周期短、成本低等优点,因而受到广泛关注.为构建高产麦角硫因的大肠杆菌工程菌株,本研究以大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli) BL21 (DE3)为出...     

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) synthesis from glycerol by a recombinant Escherichia coli arcA mutant in fed-batch microaerobic cultures

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) synthesis was analyzed under microaerobic conditions in a recombinant Escherichia coli arcA mutant using glycerol as the main carbon source. The effect of several additives was assessed in a semi-synthetic medium by the ‘one-factor-at-a-time’ technique. Casein amino acids (CAS) concentration was an important factor influencing both growth and PHB accumulation. Three factors exerting a statistically significant influence on PHB synthesis were selected by using a Plackett–Burman screening design [glycerol, CAS, and initial cell dry weight (CDW) concentrations] and then optimized through a Box–Wilson design. Under such optimized conditions (22.02 g l⁻¹ glycerol, 1.78 g l⁻¹ CAS, and 1.83 g l⁻¹ inoculum) microaerobic batch cultures gave rise to 8.37 g l⁻¹ CDW and 3.52 g l⁻¹ PHB in 48 h (PHB content of 42%) in a benchtop bioreactor. Further improvements in microaerobic PHB accumulation were obtained in fed-batch cultures, in which glycerol was added to maintain its concentration above 5 g l⁻¹. After 60 h, CDW and PHB concentration reached 21.17 and 10.81 g l⁻¹, respectively, which results in a PHB content of 51%. Microaerobic fed-batch cultures allowed a 2.57-fold increase in volumetric productivity when compared with batch cultures. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Extracellular production and affinity purification of recombinant proteins with Escherichia coli using the versatility of the maltose binding protein

Recombinant proteins are essential products of today's industrial biotechnology. In this study we address two crucial factors in recombinant protein production: (i) product accessibility and (ii) product recovery. Escherichia coli, one of the most frequently used hosts for recombinant protein expression, does not inherently secrete proteins into the extracellular environment. The major drawback of this expression system is, therefore, to be found in the intracellular protein accumulation and hampered product accessibility. We have constructed a set of expression vectors in order to facilitate extracellular protein production and purification. The maltose binding protein from E. coli is used as fusion partner for several proteins of interest allowing an export to the bacteria's periplasm via both the Sec and the Tat pathway. Upon coexpression of a modified Cloacin DF13 bacteriocin release protein, the hybrid proteins are released into the culture medium. This essentially applies to a distinguished reporter molecule, the green fluorescent protein, for which an extracellular production was not reported so far. The sequestered proteins can be purified to approximate homogeneity by a simple, rapid and cheap procedure which utilizes the affinity of the maltose binding protein to α-1,4-glucans.     

重组蛋白融合信号肽在大肠杆菌周质空间表达的研究进展

重组蛋白在大肠杆菌中表达时,往往面临着形成包涵体的问题,而重组蛋白若是分泌至周质空间则基本解决了这一问题,周质空间的周质蛋白不仅能帮助重组蛋白正确折叠还有利于二硫键的生成。信号肽是一段由15-30个氨基酸组成,被融合在重组蛋白N端的短肽,按照结构、功能的不同可以划分为N区、H区和C区,具有引导重组蛋白转运至细胞周质空间的作用。本文综述了信号肽的结构组成、作用机理和基本分泌途径,讨论了信号肽的高效转运和筛选方法,总结了在大肠杆菌中重组蛋白融合信号肽实现周质表达的新进展,并对未来高效信号肽选择方面的研究进行了探讨。     

代谢工程改造大肠杆菌合成己二酸

己二酸是一种具有重要应用价值的二元羧酸,是合成尼龙-66的关键前体。目前,生物法生产己二酸存在生产周期长、生产效率低的问题。本研究选择一株野生型高产琥珀酸菌株大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli) FMME N-2为底盘细胞,首先通过引入逆己二酸降解途径的关键酶,成功构建了可合成0.34 g/L己二酸的E. coli JL00菌株;接着,对合成路径限速酶进行表达优化,使E. coli JL01菌株在摇瓶发酵条件下产量达到0.87 g/L;随后,通过敲除sucD基因、过表达acs基因和突变lpd基因的组合策略平衡己二酸合成前体的供应,优化菌株E. coli JL12己二酸产量进一步提升至1.51 g/L;最后,在5 L发酵罐上对己二酸发酵工艺进行优化。工程菌株经72 h分批补料发酵,己二酸的产量达到22.3 g/L,转化率为0.25 g/g,生产强度为0.31 g/(L·h),具备了一定的应用潜力。本研究可为包括己二酸在内的多种二元羧酸细胞工厂的构建提供理论依据和技术基础。     

Optimization of bio-indigo production by recombinant E. coli harboring fmo gene

A bacterial flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) gene was cloned from Methylophaga aminisulfidivorans MP^T, and a plasmid pBlue 2.0 was constructed to express the bacterial fmo gene in E. coli. To increase the production of bio-indigo, upstream sequence size of fmo gene was optimized and response surface methodology was used. The pBlue 1.7 plasmid (1686 bp) was prepared by the deletion of upstream sequence of pBlue 2.0. The recombinant E. coli harboring the pBlue 1.7 plasmid produced 662 mg l⁻¹ of bio-indigo in tryptophan medium after 24 h of cultivation in flask. The production of bio-indigo was optimized using a response surface methodology with a 2ⁿ central composite design. The optimal combination of media constituents for the maximum production of bio-indigo was determined as tryptophan 2.4 g l⁻¹, yeast extract 4.5 g l⁻¹ and sodium chloride 11.4 g l⁻¹. In addition, the optimum culture temperature and pH were 30 °C and pH 7.0, respectively. Under the optimized conditions mentioned above, the recombinant E. coli harboring pBlue 1.7 plasmid produced 920 mg of bio-indigo per liter in optimum tryptophan medium after 24 h of cultivation in fermentor. The combination of truncated insert sizes and culture optimization resulted in a 575% increase in the production of bio-indigo.     

模块化工程改造大肠杆菌生产L-色氨酸

L-色氨酸作为一种必需氨基酸,广泛应用于食品、饲料和医药等领域。目前,微生物法生产L-色氨酸存在转化率低等问题。为此,本研究通过敲除L-色氨酸操纵子阻遏蛋白(L-tryptophan operon repressor protein, trpR)、替换l-色氨酸弱化子(trpL)、引入抗反馈调节的aroG^fbr等,获得可积累11.80 g/L L-色氨酸的底盘菌株大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)TRP3。在此基础上,将L-色氨酸合成途径分为中心代谢途径模块、莽草酸(shikimic acid, SA)途径至分支酸(chorismic acid, CHA)模块、分支酸至L-色氨酸模块,并借助启动子工程,通过平衡中心代谢途径模块、莽草酸途径至分支酸模块、分支酸至L-色氨酸模块,获得工程菌E.coli TRP9。在5 L发酵罐中,工程菌E.coli TRP9的L-色氨酸产量提升至36.08 g/L,糖酸转化率提升至18.55%,达到理论转化率的81.7%。本研究利用模块工程策略,构建了高产L-色氨酸生产菌株,为l-色氨酸的规模化生产奠定了良好的基础。     

Pilot-scale production and purification of a staphylokinase-based fusion protein over-expressed in Escherichia coli

SFH, a recombinant staphylokinase-based fusion protein linked by the factor Xa recognition peptide at the N-terminus of hirudin, is a promising therapeutic candidate for thromboembolic diseases. To develop SFH into a new thrombolytic agent, scaled-up production was carried out to provide sufficient preparation for animal safety and clinical studies. Here, we describe a pilot-scale cultivation and purification process for the production of SFH. A high-cell-density fed-batch cultivation for the production of SFH in E. coli was developed in a 40-L bioreactor, which produced about 1.1 g/L of recombinant protein. SFH was purified to homogeneity from the E. coli lysate by expanded bed adsorption chromatography and anion-exchange chromatography, with over 99% purity and 54% recovery. Moreover, the residual endotoxin content was less than 0.5 EU/mL. The molecular weight and in vitro bioactivity of SFH were also determined by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and fibrinolytic activity assay, respectively.     

Characterization of hydrogen production by engineered Escherichia coli strains using rich defined media

Fermentation conditions (e.g., pressure and medium) are well-documented to impact the yield of microbial products in bioreactors. In this study we used carefully controlled batch fermentations to characterize hydrogen production from engineered strains of Escherichia coli and developed a rapid method of inducing hydrogen production in previously aerobically grown cells by using a rich defined medium. Our results indicated that rich defined media activated hydrogen production from aerobic pre-cultures with no lag time and yielded more hydrogen and biomass than the commonly used minimal media. Under these conditions, deletion of both uptake hydrogenase 1 (ΔhyaAB) and hydrogenase 2 (ΔhybABC) was shown to increase hydrogen yield from glucose by 10% over the wildtype strain BW25113. However, the deletion of the repressor for the formate-hydrogen-lyase (FHL-1) complex (ΔhycA) did not further increase hydrogen production. Additional deletion of lactate dehydrogenase (ldhA) and fumarate reductase (frdBC) of the mixed-acid fermentation pathway increased hydrogen yield by 22 and 23%, respectively. Interestingly, combined elimination of ldhA and frdBC in the uptake and hycA null strain increased hydrogen yield from 1.37 to 1.82 mol/mol glucose, obtaining 91% of the theoretical maximum hydrogen yield. Our results indicated the advantage of using rich defined media for inducing hydrogen production. This study represents the first report of characterizing metabolically engineered E. coli strains in batch hydrogen fermentation using rich defined media under tightly controlled conditions.     

Purification of the Ca-binding protein S100A1 from myocardium and recombinant Escherichia coli

S100A1 is a new regulatory protein of myocardial contractility that is differentially expressed in early and late stages of myocardial hypertrophy. In order to further investigate the multiple functions of S100A1 in various assay systems we developed a new strategy for isolating biologically active S100A1 protein. After EDTA extraction of myocardium or recombinant bacteria, S100A1 was purified by Octyl-Sepharose hydrophobic interaction chromatography and HiTrapQ anion-exchange chromatography yielding 1.4–2.0 mg/100 g wet tissue and 0.7–1.0 mg/100 ml bacterial culture. Native porcine as well as human recombinant S100A1 revealed biological activity in physiological and biochemical assays.