Strategies in high-level expression of recombinant protein in Escherichia coli

The accumulation of acetate is one of the most commonly encountered problems in attaining high levels of recombinant protein production using E. coli. Two different approaches are examined to reduce the rate of acetate formation. The effects of reduced acetate accumulation on recombinant protein production were also investigated. In the first approach, E. coli mutant strains deficient in enzymes involved in the acetate synthesis pathways were isolated and characterized. The level of specific production of beta-galactosidase by the mutant strain is three times higher than its parent strain. In another approach, metabolic engineering techniques were employed to fine-tune the central metabolic pathways to reduce the amount of acetate formation. The resulting strain, which carries the acetolactase synthase gene from B. subtilis, is successful in maintaining a very low level of acetate accumulation. The ALS-containing strain is also capable of producing higher levels of recombinant protein than its parent strain.