Quantification analysis of yeast-displayed lipase

Design of a novel switchable antibody display system in Pichia pastoris

Yeast surface display (YSD) has been shown to represent a powerful tool in the field of antibody discovery and engineering as well as for selection of high producer clones. However, YSD is predominantly applied in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, whereas expression of heterologous proteins is generally favored in the non-canonical yeast Pichia pastoris (Komagataella phaffii). Establishment of surface display in P. pastoris would therefore enable antibody selection and expression in a single host. Here we describe the generation of a Pichia surface display (PSD) system based on antibody expression from episomal plasmids. By screening a diverse set of expression vectors using Design of Experiments (DoE), the effect of different genetic elements on the surface expression of antibody fragments was analyzed. Among the tested genetic elements, we found that the combination of P. pastoris formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FLD1) promoter, S. cerevisiae invertase 2 signal peptide (SUC2), and α-agglutinin cell wall protein (SAG1) including an autonomously replicating sequence of Kluyveromyces lactis (panARS) were contributing most strongly to higher display levels of three tested antibody fragments. Employing this combination resulted in the display of antibody fragments for up to 25% of cells. Despite significantly reduced expression levels in PSD compared to well-established YSD in S. cerevisiae, similar fractions of antigen binding single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) were observed (80% vs. 84%). In addition, plasmid stability assays and flow cytometric analysis demonstrated the efficient plasmid clearance of cells and associated loss of antibody fragment display after removal of selective pressure. KEY POINTS: • First report of antibody display in P. pastoris using episomal plasmids. • Identification of genetic elements conferring highest levels of antibody display. • Comparable antigen binding capacity of displayed scFvs for PSD compared to YSD.

Production of Extracellular Lipase by Bacillus halotolerans from Oil-Contaminated Soil in a Pilot-Scale Submerged Bioreactor

Microbial lipases are the biocatalyst of choice for the present and future because of their characteristics, including their ability to remain active as an enzyme throughout a broad pH, temperature, and substrate range. The goal of the current investigation was to find novel sources of substrates and isolates from soil contaminated by oil for the synthesis of lipase. On tributyrin media, 10 lipolytic bacterial strains that were isolated from oil-contaminated soil were grown. Using the zone of clearance, it was possible to identify the isolates with the highest activity. Following phylogenetic tree analysis, molecular characterization of the 16S rRNA sequence of the bacterial isolates revealed that it was Bacillus halotolerans (VSH 09). The enzyme was purified to near homogeneity. The enzyme activity was found to be optimum at a pH of 7.0 and a temperature of 35 °C. While Ni2+ and Cu2+ had no effect, the presence of Mg2+ and Ca2+ exhibited the highest levels of enzyme activity. At 1%, tributyrin as a substrate exhibited its highest level of activity. The molecular weight, as determined by SDS-PAGE, was found to be 38 kDa. The kinetics of the enzyme were found to be 41.66 and 9.37 mg/mL for Vmax and Km, respectively. The high yield of lipase produced by this method suggests that it holds potential for production on a large scale and could be used for various biotechnological applications.

Yeast arming systems: pros and cons of different protein anchors and other elements required for display

Yeast display is a powerful strategy that consists in exposing peptides or proteins of interest on the cell surface of this microorganism. Ever since initial experiments with this methodology were carried out, its scope has extended and many applications have been successfully developed in different science and technology fields. Several yeast display systems have been designed, which all involve introducting into yeast cells the gene fusions that contain the coding regions of a signal peptide, an anchor protein, to properly attach the target to the cell surface, and the protein of interest to be exposed, all of which are controlled by a strong promoter. In this work, we report the description of such elements for the alternative systems introduced by focusing particularly on anchor proteins. The comparisons made between them are included whenever possible, and the main advantages and inconveniences of each one are discussed. Despite the huge number of publications on yeast surface display and the revisions published to date, this topic has not yet been widely considered. Finally, given the growing interest in developing systems for non-Saccharomyces yeasts, the main strategies reported for some are also summarized.

Display of fungal hydrophobin on the Pichia pastoris cell surface and its influence on Candida antarctica lipase B

To modify the Pichia pastoris cell surface, two classes of hydrophobins, SC3 from Schizophyllum commune and HFBI from Trichoderma reesei, were separately displayed on the cell wall. There was an observable increase in the hydrophobicity of recombinant strains. Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) was then co-displayed on the modified cells, generating strains GS115/SC3-61/CALB-51 and GS115/HFBI-61/CALB-51. Interestingly, the hydrolytic and synthetic activities of strain GS115/HFBI-61/CALB-51 increased by 37 and 109 %, respectively, but decreased by 26 and 43 %, respectively, in strain GS115/SC3-61/CALB-51 compared with the hydrophobin-minus recombinant strain GS115/CALB-GCW51. The amount of glycerol by-product from the transesterification reaction adsorbed on the cell surface was significantly decreased following hydrophobin modification, removing the glycerol barrier and allowing substrates to access the active sites of lipases. Electron micrographs indicated that the cell wall structures of both recombinant strains appeared altered, including changes to the inner glucan layer and outer mannan layer. These results suggest that the display of hydrophobins can change the surface structure and hydrophobic properties of P. pastoris and affect the catalytic activities of CALB displayed on the surface of P. pastoris cells.

Scaling-up the synthesis of myristate glucose ester catalyzed by a CALB-displaying Pichia pastoris whole-cell biocatalyst

The novel whole-cell biocatalyst Candida antarctica lipase B displaying-Pichia pastoris (Pp-CALB) is characterized by its low preparation cost and could be an alternative to the commercial immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB). This study addresses the feasibility of using Pp-CALB in large scale glucose fatty acid esters production. 1,2-O-Isopropylidene-α-D-glucofuranose (IpGlc) was used as the acyl acceptor to overcome the low solubility of glucose in an organic solvent and to avoid the addition of toxic co-solvents. IpGlc significantly improved the Pp-CALB catalyzing esterification efficiency when using long chain fatty acids as the acyl donor. Under the preferred operating conditions (50 °C, 40 g/L molecular sieve dosage and 200 rpm mixing intensity), 60.5% of IpGlc converted to 6-O-myristate-1, 2-O-isopropylidene-α-D-glucofuranose (C14-IpGlc) after a 96-h reaction in a 2-L stirred reactor. In a 5-L pilot scale test, Pp-CALB also showed a similar substrate conversion rate of 55.4% and excellent operational stability. After C14-IpGlc was collected, 70% trifluoroacetic acid was adopted to hydrolyze C14-IpGlc to myristate glucose ester (C14-Glc) with a high yield of 95.3%. In conclusion, Pp-CALB is a powerful biocatalyst available for industrial synthesis, and this study describes an applicable and economical process for the large scale production of myristate glucose ester.