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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Expression of Recombinant Proteins in the Methylotrophic Yeast Pichia pastoris
Published on: February 25, 2010
Comparison of Yeasts as Hosts for Recombinant Protein Production
Antonio Milton Vieira Gomes1, Talita Souza Carmo2, Lucas Silva Carvalho3
1Grupo Engenharia de Biocatalisadores, Departamento de Biologia Celular, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Bloco K 1º andar, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, CEP 70.790-900 Brasília-DF, Brazil. miltonvieirag@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Recombinant protein production emerged in the early 1980s with the development of genetic engineering tools, which represented a compelling alternative to protein extraction from natural sources. Over the years, a high level of heterologous protein was made possible in a variety of hosts ranging from the bacteria Escherichia coli to mammalian cells. Recombinant protein importance is represented by its market size, which reached $1654 million in 2016 and is expected to reach $2850.5 million by 2022. Among the available hosts, yeasts have been used for producing a great variety of proteins applied to chemicals, fuels, food, and pharmaceuticals, being one of the most used hosts for recombinant production nowadays. Historically, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was the dominant yeast host for heterologous protein production. Lately, other yeasts such as Komagataella sp., Kluyveromyces lactis, and Yarrowia lipolytica have emerged as advantageous hosts. In this review, a comparative analysis is done listing the advantages and disadvantages of using each host regarding the availability of genetic tools, strategies for cultivation in bioreactors, and the main techniques utilized for protein purification. Finally, examples of each host will be discussed regarding the total amount of protein recovered and its bioactivity due to correct folding and glycosylation patterns.
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