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.     

Run-to-run fed-batch optimization for protein production using recombinant Escherichia coli

A two-phase design approach is introduced to determine the optimal feed rate, fed glucose concentration and fermentation time to maximize protein productivity using recombinant Escherichia coli BL21 (pBAW2) strain. The first phase is applied to determine a primary S-system kinetic model using batch time-series data. Two runs were carried out in the second phase to achieve the maximum protein productivity for the fed-batch fermentation process. The computational results using the S-system kinetic model obtained from the second run are in better agreement with the experiments than those using the kinetic model obtained from batch time-series data. For cross-validation, two extra fed-batch experiments with different feed strategies were carried out for comparison with the optimal fed-batch result. From the experimental results, this approach could improve productivity by at least 3%.     

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.     

Expression of the pyranose 2-oxidase from Trametes pubescens in Escherichia coli and characterization of the recombinant enzyme

cDNA-encoding pyranose 2-oxidase (P2O) from Trametes pubescens was sequenced and cloned into Escherichia coli strain BL21/DE3 on a multicopy plasmid under the control of trc promoter. The synthesis of P2O was studied in a batch culture in M9-based mineral medium: the enzyme was synthesized constitutively at 28 °C in amount corresponding to 8% of the cell soluble protein (0.6 U mg⁻¹). Only small portion of P2O (11%) was in the form of non-active inclusion bodies. Purified recombinant enzyme has similar physico-chemical and kinetic parameters with other P2Os. When compared to the expression of p2o of Trametes ochracea, a ratio of the mature enzyme to inclusion bodies found in the same E. coli host at 28 °C is as much as nine times higher. The finding makes the enzyme from T. pubescens preferable for the large-scale production by recombinant bacteria. The difference in amino acid sequences of the P2O from T. ochracea and T. pubescens may explain the favourable trait of the latter enzyme regarding protein folding.     

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.     

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.     

Enhanced production of insect raw-starch-digesting alpha-amylase accompanied by high erythritol synthesis in recombinant Yarrowia lipolytica fed-batch cultures at high-cell-densities

Recently we reported on raw-starch-digesting ability of alpha-amylase from an insect Sitophilus oryzae (SoAMY) expressed in recombinant Yarrowia lipolytica cells, and demonstrated its usefulness in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation processes with industrial yeasts. In this study we applied fed-batch cultures of Y. lipolytica 4.29 strain reaching high-cell-densities (up to 70 [g_DCW/L]), to enhance SoAMY production. SoAMY activity in the medium reached the peak value of 22,979.23 ± 184 [AU/L], at volumetric productivity of 121.58 ± 1.75 [AU/L/h], and yield of 71.83 ± 3.08 [AU/g_glycerol], constituting roughly 160-fold improvement, compared to the best previous result. The cultivations were accompanied by high production of erythritol (83.58 [g/L]), at the marginal production of mannitol (5.46 [g/L]). Elementary analyses of media constituents, the enzyme and the yeast biomass gave better insight into carbon and nitrogen fluxes distribution. Due to application of genetic engineering and bioprocess engineering strategies, the insect-derived enzyme can be produced at the quantities competitive to microbial catalysts.     

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.     

A novel host-vector system for direct selection of recombinant baculoviruses (bacmids) in Escherichia coli

Site-specific transposition in Escherichia coli was used to introduce foreign genes into the Autographica californica nuclear polyhedrosis baculovirus genome. Using a temperature-sensitive donor plasmid and an E. coli host strain with an occupied Tn7 attachment site it was possible to select directly for ‘bacmid’ recombinants at 44°C. A blue to white color screen provided further confirmation of insertion at the correct site in the baculovirus genome. After cloning the gene of interest into a donor plasmid, a single transformation and plating on selective medium resulted in homogeneous baculovirus DNA which could immediately be transfected into insect cells. The utility of the host-vector system for expression in insect cells was illustrated using three heterologous genes encoding β-glucuronidase, human N-myristoyl transferase and murine preproguanylin. Using this approach, bacmid recombinants could be produced at a frequency of 10⁵ per pg input DNA. This system should not only greatly enhance the ability to obtain recombinant viruses for heterologous protein production, but should also be useful for protein engineering applications and expression cloning in insect cells.     

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     

Purification and activation of a recombinant histidine-tagged pro-transglutaminase after soluble expression in Escherichia coli and partial characterization of the active enzyme

Pro-transglutaminase from Streptomyces mobaraensis was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein carrying a C-terminal histidine tag (pro-MTG-His₆). The recombinant organism was cultivated in 15 L bioreactor scale and pro-MTG-His₆ was purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. Activation of the inactive pro-enzyme using trypsin resulted in an unexpected degradation of the transglutaminase and a concomitant loss of activity. Therefore, a set of commercially available proteases was investigated for their activation potential without destroying the target enzyme. Besides trypsin, chymotrypsin and proteinase K were found to activate but hydrolyze the (pro-MTG-His₆). Cathepsin B, dispase I, and thrombin were shown to specifically hydrolyze pro-MTG-His₆ without deactivation. TAMEP, the endogeneous protease from S. mobaraensis was purified for comparison and also found to activate the recombinant histidine-tagged transglutaminase without degradation. The TAMEP activated MTG-His₆ was purified and characterized. The specific activity (23 U/mg) of the recombinant histidine-tagged transglutaminase, the temperature optimum (50 °C), and the temperature stability (t_1/2 at 60 °C = 1.7 min) were comparable to the wild-type enzyme. A C-terminal peptide tag did neither affect the activity nor the stability but facilitated the purification. The purification of the histidine-tagged protein is possible before or after activation.     

Temperature dependent survival of UV-irradiated Escherichia coli K12

Summary We have found that several excision deficient derivatives of Escherichia coli K12 survive better after UV irradiation if incubated at 42°C than if incubated at 30°C. The highest survival was observed when incubation at 42°C followed UV irradiation and was maintained for at least 16 h. Our results indicate that this temperature dependent resistance (TDR) requires a functional recA gene, but not uvr A, uvrB, recF, or recB genes, or the recA441 (tif-1) mutation which allows thermoinduction of the recA-lexA regulon. Our data are consistent with the idea that the increase in survival observed at 42°C reflects enhanced daughterstrand gap repair by DNA strand exchange. Although the conditions used to elicit TDR can induce heat shock proteins and thermotolerance in E. coli, the relationship between the two responses remains to be elucidated.     

改造大肠杆菌卟啉代谢途径对重组过氧化物酶活性的影响

【目的】原核表达某些需辅因子的外源蛋白时往往酶活偏低,为提高酶活和减少外加辅因子的成本,我们尝试在大肠杆菌中表达外源过氧化氢-过氧化物酶的同时提高大肠杆菌中与该酶辅因子相关的合成代谢。【方法】本研究克隆了中度嗜盐菌Halomonas elongata DSM2581的过氧化氢-过氧化物酶CAT-POD(catalase-peroxidase)编码基因kat G的ORF,构建原核表达载体p ET28a-kat G,实现了CAT-POD在大肠杆菌中的重组表达。由于CAT-POD活性依赖其活性中心血红素,而血卟啉是血红素的骨架,通过构建原核表达载体p UC19-tac-hem A,将编码5-氨基乙酰丙酸合成酶的hem A基因在大肠杆菌中过量表达,提高卟啉的含量,从而提高重组蛋白CAT-POD的酶活。【结果】最终的CAT酶活达到了377 U/m L,为对照组的7.5倍。【结论】本研究为工业生产高活性CAT-POD提供了有效的方案,也为体外重组表达含辅因子的蛋白提供可借鉴的思路。     

Control of endotoxin release in Escherichia coli fed-batch cultures

High amounts of outer membrane (OM) components were released in glucose-limited fed-batch (GLFB) cultures at 37 °C at specific growth rates approaching 0.05 h⁻¹. Endotoxin analyses from a 20 °C GLFB culture gave similar results. An alternative fermentation technique, the temperature-limited fed-batch (TLFB) technique, reduced the endotoxin concentration in a culture with a biomass concentration of 30 g l⁻¹ from the 850 mg l⁻¹ in traditional GLFB cultures to about 20 mg l⁻¹. The TLFB technique uses the temperature to regulate the dissolved oxygen tension, while all substrate components are unregulated. It appears to be severe glucose limitation that triggers the extensive release of endotoxins rather than a low growth rate. Furthermore, it is not the low temperature that stabilizes the OM when using the TLFB technique. Simulations and experimental data show that this technique results in the same biomass productivity as the GLFB technique.     

Immunological detection of cloned antigenic genes of Vibrio cholerae in Escherichia coli

Antibodies have been used as probe to detect cloned genes coding for toxin and surface antigens of Vibrio cholerae E1 Tor strain KB207. Eco RI-digested chromosomal DNA of KB207 was cloned in plasmid pBR325 and transformed in Escherichia coli HB 101(λcI857). Transformants were grown at 32° C on plates containing antibodies. Lysogen was induced at 42 °C to release expressed antigens. Antigen-antibody reaction produced a halo around positive clones.     

Functional expression of Aquaspirillum magnetotacticum genes in Escherichia coli K12

Summary Gene libraries from the magnetotactic bacterium, Aquaspirillum magnetotacticum were constructed in Escherichia coli with cosmids pLAFR3 and c2RB as vectors. Recombinant cosmids able to complement the thr-1, leuB, and proA mutations of the host were identified. The Pro⁺ recombinant cosmid restored wild-type phenotype in proA and proB but not in the proC mutants of E. coli. The results of restriction endonuclease digestion and Southern hybridization analysis indicate that the relevent leu and pro biosynthetic genes of A. magnetotacticum are not closely linked on the chromosome.     

Expression of hepatitis B virus surface antigen gene in Escherichia coli

Direct expression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) gene under the control of the Escherichia coli tryptophan operon (trp) promoter has been achieved. Synthesis of HBsAg (both complete and lacking its N-terminal segment) as a part of hybrid proteins with the N-terminal portion coded by genes cat, kan or bla is controlled by the appropriate promoters, as well as by the trp promoter. The highest levels of expression, including those for direct synthesis of HBsAg, provide the accumulation of about 10⁵ polypeptide molecules per bacterial cell.