Active transport of inducer in enzyme biosynthesis

Overexpression of cloned genes using recombinant Escherichia coli regulated by a T7 promoter: I. Batch cultures and kinetic modeling

A novel Eschericha coli expression system directed by bacteriophage T7 RNA Polymerase utilized for overexpression of the cloned gene. The recombinant cell contains the plasmid with a bacteriophage promoter, the T7 promoter, to regulate the expression of the target gene. This promoter is recognized only by T7 RNA polymerase, whose gene has been fused into the host chromosome and is under control of the lacUV5 promoter. Therefore, the target gene on the plasmid can be expressed only in the presence of T7 RNA polymerase, which is induced by isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). The batch cultures were performed to investigate the effect of induction on kinetics of cell growth and foreign protein formation and to determine the optimal induction strategy. It was observed that the specific growth rates of the recombinant cells dramatically decrease after induction, and that there is an optimal induction time for maximizing the accumulated intracellular foreign protein. This optimal induction time varies significantly with inducer concentration. To better understand the optimal behavior, a lumped mechanistic model was constructed to analyze the induced cell growth and foreign protein formation rates.

Dynamics of induced CAT expression in E. coli

The dynamics of chemically induced chloramphenicolaceyl-transferase (CAT) expression are determined in batch cultures of Escherichia coli DH5alphaF'IQ [pKK262-1]. This article is directed towards understanding the coupling of induced cloned-protein synthesis and reduced cell growth which are balanced in the optimal system. Experimental results indicate that the best inducer (IPTG) concentration is near 1.0 mM when added during midexponential growth. Lower concentrations cause only weak induction, whereas higher concentrations cause sufficiently strong induction that cell growth is suppressed. Induction at the onset of the stationary phase results in high expression but is accompanied by stimulated protease activity. Also, cell mass yield is adversely affected by enhanced protein synthesis. A structured metabolic model is shown to predict the responses of instantaneous growth rate and productivity which result from protein overexpression. This model can be employed to predict alternative reactor strategies and operating conditions necessary for the design of efficient bioprocess.