ObjectivesLycopene biosynthetic genes from Deinococcus radiodurans were co-expressed in Lactococcus lactis to produce lycopene and improve its tolerance to stress.ResultsLycopene-related genes from D. radiodurans, DR1395 (crtE), DR0862 (crtB), and DR0861 (crtI), were fused in line with S hine-Dalgarno (SD) sequences and co-expressed in L. lactis. The recombinant strain produced 0.36 mg lycopene g-1 dry cell wt after 48 h fermentation. The survival rate to UV irradiation of the recombinant strain was higher than that of the non-transformed strain.ConclusionThe L. lactis with co-expressed genes responsible for lycopene biosynthesis from D. radiodurans produced lycopene and exhibited increased resistance to UV stress, suggesting that the recombinant strain has important application potential in food industry. |