Construction of a new recombinant protein expression system in the basidiomycetous yeast Cryptococcus sp. strain S-2 and enhancement of the production of a cutinase-like enzyme

Simultaneous bioethanol distillery wastewater treatment and xylanase production by the phyllosphere yeast Pseudozyma antarctica GB-4(0)

Bioethanol production using lignocellulosic biomass generates lignocellulosic bioethanol distillery wastewater (LBDW) that contains a large amount of xylose, making it a potential inexpensive source of xylose for biomaterials production. The main goal of this study was the production of useful enzymes from LBDW during treatment of this wastewater. In this study, we found that xylose strongly induced two yeast strains, Pseudozyma antarctica T-34 and GB-4(0), to produce novel xylanases, PaXynT and PaXynG, respectively. The nucleotide sequence of PaXynT [accession No. DF196774 (GAC73192.1)], obtained from the genome database of strain T-34 using its N-terminal amino acid sequence, was 91% identical to that of PaXynG (accession No. AB901085), and the deduced amino acid sequence is 98% identical. The specific activities of the purified PaXynT and PaXynG were about 52 U/mg. The optimal pH and temperature for both enzymes’ activities were 5.2 and 50°C, respectively. They hydrolyzed xylan to xylose and neither had β-xylosidase (EC 3.2.1.37) activity, indicating that they are endo-β-xylanases (EC 3.2.1.8). With these results, we expect that PaXyns can be employed in saccharizing lignocellulosic biomass materials for the production of useful products just like other endoxylanases. After 72 h of LBDW fed-batch cultivation using a jar-fermentor, strain GB-4(0) produced 17.3 U/ml (corresponding to about 0.3 g/l) of PaXynG and removed 63% of dissolved organic carbon and 87% of dissolved total phosphorus from LBDW. These results demonstrate the potential of P. antarctica for xylanase production during LBDW treatment.

Expression, stabilization and purification of membrane proteins via diverse protein synthesis systems and detergents involving cell-free associated with self-assembly peptide surfactants

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are involved in regulating most of physiological actions and metabolism in the bodies, which have become most frequently addressed therapeutic targets for various disorders and diseases. Purified GPCR-based drug discoveries have become routine that approaches to structural study, novel biophysical and biochemical function analyses. However, several bottlenecks that GPCR-directed drugs need to conquer the problems including overexpression, solubilization, and purification as well as stabilization. The breakthroughs are to obtain efficient protein yield and stabilize their functional conformation which are both urgently requiring of effective protein synthesis system methods and optimal surfactants. Cell-free protein synthesis system is superior to the high yields and post-translation modifications, and early signs of self-assembly peptide detergents also emerged to superiority in purification of membrane proteins. We herein focus several predominant protein synthesis systems and surfactants involving the novel peptide detergents, and uncover the advantages of cell-free protein synthesis system with self-assembling peptide detergents in purification of functional GPCRs. This review is useful to further study in membrane proteins as well as the new drug exploration.

Comparison of laccase production levels in Pichia pastoris and Cryptococcus sp. S-2

The heterologous expression of the laccase gene from Trametes versicolor and Gaeumannomyces graminis was evaluated in the yeasts Pichia pastoris and Cryptococcus sp. S-2. The expression levels of both laccase genes in Cryptococcus sp. S-2 were considerably higher than those in P. pastoris. The codon usage of Cryptococcus sp. S-2 as well as the GC content were similar to those of T. versicolor and G. graminis. These results suggest that using a host with a similar codon usage for the expressed gene may improve protein expression. The use of Cryptococcus sp. S-2 as a host may be advantageous for the heterologous expression of genes with high GC content. Moreover, this yeast provides the same advantages as P. pastoris for the production of recombinant proteins, such as growth on minimal medium, capacity for high-density growth during fermentation, and capability for post-translational modifications. Therefore, we propose that Cryptococcus sp. S-2 be used as an expression host to improve enzyme production levels when other hosts have not yielded good results.