Expression of Recombinant Human Lysozyme-tachyplesin I(hLYZ-TP I)in Pichia Pastoris and Analysis of Antibacterial Activity

Antimicrobial peptides （AMPs） are making headlines in science because they demonstrate superior microbicidal characteristics compared to synthetic and semi-synthetic antibiotics.

Expression and Characterization of a Thermostable Xylanase Gene xynA from a Themophilic Fungus in Pichia pastoris

The gene of xylanase （xynA） was amplified by RT-PCR from the total RNA of a themophilic fungus Thermomyces lanuginosus SY2. The sequence analysis showed that gene coding region of mature peptide contained 0.585 kb, which coded 194 amino acids. The putative amino acid sequence and DNA sequence of xylanase from T. lanuginosus SY2 （GenBank no.： GU166389） were 98.97 and 99.49% identical to the other T. lanuginosus （GenBank no.： U35436）. A recombinant plasmid pPIC9K-xynA was constructed by inserting gene xynA into Pichia pastoris secretory vector pPIC9K. Linearized pPIC9K-xynA was transformed into P. pastoris GS115 with the method of electroporation. The recombinant strain was identified by G418 selection and confirmed by PCR analysis. It was induced by 1.0% methanol at 28°C to express the recombinant xylanase. The results showed that the recombinant xylanase was secreted into extracellular fermentation liquid. The highest enzyme activity of 113.5 IU mL-1 and protein content of 889.7 μg mL-1 were detected for 216 h of induction. The optimal pH value and temperature of the enzyme activity was 5.5 and 65°C, respectively. The xylanase activity retained above 80% from pH value 2.5 to 8.5 for 48 h. The enzyme activity was above 85% at incubation temperature of 55°C.

Expression and Characterization of HIV-1 Envelope Glycoprotein in Pichia Pastoris

To obtain a sufficient amount of glycoprotein for further studying the structure and function of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein, amplified and modified HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gene which recombined subtypes（850 amino acids） from Guangxi in China was inserted into Pichia pastoris expression vector pPICZαB; then the recombinant plasmid was transported into the yeast cells to induce the expression of Env protein with methanol. The results of SDS-PAGE and Western blot indicate that the envelope glycoprotein could be expressed in Pichia pastoris with productions of a 120000 glycoprotein and a 41000 glycoprotein, which showed satisfactory immunogenicity by indirect ELISA.

High-level expression and purification of Plutella xylostella acetylcholinesterase in Pichia pastoris and its potential application

The acetylcholinesterase 2（AChE2）cloned from Plutella xylostella was first successfully expressed in methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris GS115.One transformant with high-level expression of the recombinant AChE（rAChE,23.2 U mL-1in supernatant）was selected by plating on increasing concentrations of antibiotic G418 and by using a simple and specific chromogenic reaction with indoxyl acetate as a substrate.The maximum production of r ACh E reached about 11.8 mg of the enzyme protein per liter of culture.The r ACh E was first precipitated with ammonium sulfate（50%saturation）and then purified with procainamide affinity column chromatography.The enzyme was purified 12.1-fold with a yield of 22.8%and a high specific activity of 448.3 U mg-1.It was sensitive to inhibition by methamidophos and pirimicarb,the calculated 50% inhibitory concentration（IC50）values of the two pesticides were 0.357 and 0.888 mg L-1,respectively,and the calculated 70% inhibitory concentration（IC70）values were 0.521 and 0.839 mg L-1,respectively.The results suggested that it has a potential application in the detection of pesticide residues.

Secretive Expression of Insect Antifungal Peptide-Encoded Genes in Pichia pastoris and Activity Assay of the Products

The antifungal peptides, drosomycin （Drs） and its isoform drosomycin-like C （Drs-lC） from Drosophila melanogaster and Thanatin from Podisus maculiventris, have potent activity with broad spectrum against filamentous fungi. Secretive expression of these genes in yeasts makes it possible to utilize the supernatants of yeast culture as protective reagents on fruit, vegetable, food and other agricultural products. So the study of effective secretion by yeast expression system is of great importance. Three genes, Drs, Drs-lC, and Thanatin, were cloned into pPICZαA and the recombinant vectors, pPICZαA-Drs, pPICZαA-Drs-lC, and pPICZαA-Thanatin were transformed into Pichia pastoris by the electric transfer method. The recombinant P. pastoris, which was screened by phenotype selection and PCR amplification, was induced to express antifungal peptide by methanol. The expressive products of the three recombinants showed antifungal activity against 5 out of 6 test fungi strains, and the products of Thanatin also had strong activity against the tested bacteria. The three antifungal peptide genes, Drs, Drs-lC, and Thanatin, were constructed into yeast P. pastoris. The expressed peptides were successfully secreted into the culture medium and exhibited potent activities against the test strains.

Constitutive and Secretory Expression of the AiiA in Pichia pastoris Inhibits Amorphophallus konjac Soft Rot Disease

Amorphophallus konjac is an important economic crop widely cultivated in Southeast Asia and Africa. However, A. konjac is seriously infected by soft rot pathogen. The endocellular acyl homoserine lactonase (AiiA) which is generated by Bacillus species has inhibitory effect on soft rot pathogen through disrupting the signal molecules (N-acylhomoserine lactones, AHL) of their Quorum Sensing system. The aim of our study is to obtain recombinant yeast which produces AiiA protein. The recombinant yeast Pichia pastoris GS115 was constructed to constitutive expression of the AiiA gene. The results of reverse transcript PCR analysis showed that the AiiA gene was expressed successfully in the yeast. Proteins extracted from YPDS showed the highest inhibition efficacy to E. carotovora compared with the other two mediums (YPD and LB) under tested conditions.

Codon Optimization of SMAP-29 Gene and Its Expression in Pichia pastoris

[ Objective] This study aimed to optimize the cedon of antimicrobial peptide SMAP-29 gene and express SMAP-29 in Pichia pastoris. [ Method] Ac- cording to the published amino acid sequence of SMAP-29, a gene encoding SMAP-29 （sheep myeloid antibacterial peptides-29） mature peptide was synthesized and was biased codon usage of Pichia pastoris. The synthesized gene was inserted into Pichia pastoris expression vector pPIC3.5K, transformed into Pichia pastoris strain GSll5 by electmporation, and screened with G418 for high-copy recombinants. The methanol utility plus phenotype （Mut ＋ ） was selected with MM, MD and PCR. The correctly constructed recombinant strain was induced with methanol. Expression of SMAP-29 was analyzed by lysing the induced yeast cells with Tricine- SDS-PAGE. [ Result] After induced with methanol for 2 d, a 3.2 kD induced band was detected in the cell lysate which was consistent to the predicted molecular weight of SMAP-29 ; the expression products purified with gel filtration chromatography showed significant antibacterial effect against Staphyloccocus aureus and Mo- nilia albican but no significant antibacterial effect against Escherichia coli. [ Conclusion] This study laid the foundation for the application of SMAP-29 in biomedi- cine, agriculture and other fields.

Biocatalytic production of chitosan polymers from shrimp shells,using a recombinant enzyme produced by Pichia pastoris

Chitosan has a unique chemical structure with high charge density, reactive hydroxyl and amino groups, and extensive hydrogen bonding. Chitin deacetylase (EC 3.5.1.41) catalyzes the hydrolysis of the N-acetamido groups of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues in chitin, converting it to chitosan and releasing acetate. The entire ORF of the CDA2 gene encoding one of the two isoforms of chitin deacetylase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned in Pichia pastoris. The Tg (Cda2-6xHis)p was expressed at high levels as a soluble intracellular protein after induction of the recombinant yeast culture with methanol, and purified using nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid chelate affinity chromatography, resulting in a protein preparation with a purity of >98% and an overall yield of 79%. Chitin deacetylase activity was measured by a colorimetric method based on the O-phthalaldehyde reagent, which detects primary amines remaining in chitinous substrate after acetate release. The recombinant enzyme could deacetylate chitin, chitobiose, chitotriose and chitotetraose, with an optimum temperature of 50°C and pH 8.0, determined using oligochitosaccharides as the substrates. The recombinant protein was also able to deacetylate its solid natural substrate, shrimp chitin, to a limited extent, producing chitosan with a degree of acetylation (DA) of 89% as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The degree of deacetylation was increased by pre-hydrolysis of crystalline shrimp chitin by chitinases, which increased the deacetylation ratio triggered by chitin deacetylase, producing chito-oligosaccharides with a degree of acetylation of 33%. The results described here open the possibility to use the rCda2p, combined with chitinases, for biocatalytic conversion of chitin to chitosan with controlled degrees of deacetylation. We show herein that the crystalline chitin form can be cleanly produced in virtually quantitative yield if a combined and sequential enzyme treatment is performed.

Construction and expression of a synthetic gene encoding nonstructural glycoprotein NS1 of dengue 2 virus in Pichia pastoris

Objectives: To express and characterize NS1 of Indonesian-specific DENV2 virus in Pichia pastoris(P. pastoris).Methods: A codon optimized synthetic gene derived from the DENV-2 NS1 amino acid sequences was synthesized commercially and inserted into the P. pastoris pPICZαA expression vector. The recombinant DENV-2 NS1 protein was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, and its antigenicity was tested.Results: The recombinant DENV-2 NS I protein was secreted as a protein with a molecular weight of ~45 kDa, and the optimal expression condition was achieved by induction with 2%(v/v) methanol for 72 h. The purified recombinant DENV-2 NS1 protein was able to interact with a monoclonal antibody of NS1 in a commercial rapid test.Conclusions: The resulting recombinant DENV-2 NS1 protein produced in P. pastoris KM71 is a potential candidate for use in the development of a dengue diagnostic kit and vaccine.

Expression and Activities Experiment of DNA Transduction Motif Based on GAL4 in Pichia Pastoris

The genes encoding DNA-binding domain（BD） designed based on the yeast transcriptional activator GAL4 and protein transduction domain of HIV-1 Tat protein were fused via soft linker peptide sequence, and cloned into yeast expression vector pPIC9k. The resulted plasmid pTG was linearized and transfected into Pichia pastoris strains GS 115 by electroporation. High copies of transformants were obtained with Muts and HIS＋ phenotype identi- fication, PCR amplification and screening of G418. After flask culture and expression induced by methanol, the target protein named TG was well expressed and analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. Under optimized conditions, the yield of soluble recombinant protein was approximately 39.7 mg/L. DNA binding activity and cell transduction property of TG were analyzed by gel eleetrophoresis and fluorescent microscopy. The results show that the recombinant protein could bind strongly to the plasmid containing upstream activating sequence（UAS）. The cell experiments revealed that TG could deliver the binding plasmid into HEK-293 cells effectively. In summary, the work presented here suggests that TG is specific toward UAS containing plasmid and has the potential for use as nonviral DNA delivery agent.

Expression and Characterization of HGV E2 cDNA in Pichia pastoris

A 559 base pair fragment of cDNA locating at the putative E2 region of GBV-C/HGV was inserted intoPichia pastoris expression vector pPIC9K in the reading frame of α-factor secreting signal peptide. The recombinant expression plasmid pPIC9K-E2 was introduced intoP. pastoris GS 115 with electroporation and recombined with the host genome by homological recombination. The His+Mut+ recombinant yeasts were selected and cultivated in the BMMY medium. After 3 days induction with 0.5% methanol, the target protein (E2) accumulated up to 30% of total proteins in the supernatant. The expressed E2 protein was proved possessing antigenicity and high specificity with Western blot and ELISA probed with sera from the immunized rabbits and the patients infected by GBV-C/HGV.

Assembly and Immunogenicity of Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Major Capsid Protein(HPV16 L1) in Pichia pastoris

In this study, a recombinant Pichia pastoris expression system was developed to express HPV16 L1 protein that was driven by a strong AOX1 promoter. HPV16L1 gene was cloned into vector pPICZ,αB. HPV16 L1 protein expression induced by methanol was screened by using sodium dedecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis （SDSPAGE） and Western blotting. The results indicate that the HPVl6 L1 protein is secreted by the recombinant P. pastoris, and the purified HPV16 L1 protein can self-assemble into vires-like particles（ VLPs）, which show a good immunogenicity and induces high-titer antibody in mice.

Heterologous Expression of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ag85B in Pichia pastoris

The DNA fragment encoding mature Mycobacterium tuberculosis major secretory protein Ag85B was inserted into the Pichia pastoris secretory expression vector pHBM905A, under the control of the AOX1 promoter. The recombinant plasmid pHBM905A-85B linearized by Sal I was introduced into Pichia pastoris strain GS115 by PEG1000 transformation method. After phenotype screening and PCR identification, the resulting GS115-pHBM905A-85B strain was cultivated and induced with methanol. The recombinant Ag85B protein in secreted form was attained with molecular weight of 35 × 10^3 approximately detected by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. EI,ISA experiment proved that the protein had good antigen specificity. Secretory expression of recombinant M. tuberculosis Ag85B in P. pastoris will open a door to mass production of the protein in heterologous host and allow ready evaluation of its immunological function.

Expression of ChIFN-α in Pichia pastoris and Optimization of Its Expression Condition

Because yeast codon preferred to synthesize the gene sequence of ChIFN-α mature peptide, Pichia pastoris expression system was connected into vector pPICgK, to construct recombinant plasmid pPIC9K-α. After digestion and linearization, the recombinant vector was cloned into P. pastor/s GS115, high copy transformant and its methanol utilization type were screened, and its expression conditions were optimized. The results showed that ChlFN-α successfully expressed in P. pastor/s, the expression amount of recombinant protein was the largest after induced expression in 0.5 % methanol containing 2% acid hydrolyzed casein at 28 ℃ for 72 h, and its antiviral activity was the highest.

Cloning and Characterization of a Galactomannan-degrading Enzyme Gene in Pichia pastoris

[ Objective ] This study aimed to obtain the recombinant Pichia yeast strain which can efficiently degrade guar gum. The properties of the recombinant enzyme were studied preliminarily. [ Method ] A positive clone that could hydrolyze guar gum was obtained through the construction and functional screening of a soil genome library. Sequence analysis indicated that the 1485-bp clone encodes a 494-amino acid protein with a relative molecular mass of 53 949 kD, containing a cellulose-binding domain. The recombinant plasmid pHBM731 was generated by inserting the optimized target gene into a Pichia pastoris expression vector pHBMg05 that was transformed into three Pichia pastoris strains, GS115, KM71 and SMD1168. The biochemical properties of the enzyme were assessed. [ Result] The cloned galactonumnan （GM）-degrading enzyme was expressed and secreted by Pichia pastoris GSll5. High cell density fermentation was induced in recombi- nant Pichia pastoris at 25 and 28 ~C ; a higher enzyme activity was observed at an induction temperature of 28 ~C. The optimal temperature for the recombinant en- zyme is 60 ~C, and the optimal pH is 6.6. The enzyme activity was 38.61 U under optimal conditions. Over 50% of the enzyme activity was maintained under the optimal conditions after 9 h. Under the optimal conditions, the effect of metal ions on enzyme activity was analyzed. Ca2 ＋ , Fe2 ＋ and Li ~ slightly enhanced enzyme activity, while Mn2＋ and Co2＋ had little effect. Enzyme activity was modestly suppressed by Mg2~ , K~ and Na＋ , but considerably suppressed by Ag2~ and Zn2~ , with Cu2 ＋ showing the strongest inhibitory effects. [ Conclusion] A novel GM-degrading enzyme expressed by soil yeast was cloned, which can potentially be used in industrial applications to obtain eommereially useful guar gum-degradation products.

Fusion Expression of Glucoamylase and Xylanase in Pichia pastoris

Employing RT-PCR amplification method, the mature pepfide coding sequence of glucoamylase （amyA） gene was amplified from total RNA of Talaro- myces emersonii and the xylanase （xyrut） gene from genomic DNA ofPaenibacillus sp. H10-3. The result showed that the mature peptide sequence of amyA is 1857 bp long and encodes 618 amino acids; and the mature peptide sequence of xynA is 636 bp long and encodes 211 amino acids. Then these two genes were spliced by overlap extension PCR （ SOE-PCR）, yielding fusion gene amyA-l-xynA. The fusion gene amyA-l-xynA was then cloned into a Pichia pastoris expression vector pPIC9 to produce the recombinant expression plasmid pPIC9-amyA-l-xynA. The recombinant plasmid pPICg-amyA-l-xynA was linearized and transformed into Pichia pastoris GSll5 via electric shock, yielding engineering strain ALX2. The maximum yields of glucoamylase and xylanase in ALX2 fermentation supernatant were determined as 10.7 and 51.8 U/ml, respectively.

Secretion and expression dynamics of a GFP-tagged mucin-type fusion protein in high cell density Pichia pastoris bioreactor cultivations

The methanol inducible alcohol oxidase 1 promoter and the Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-factor prepro secretion signal were used to drive expression and secretion of a mucin-type fusion protein by Pichia pastoris in 1 L scale bioreactors. The aim of the study was to understand how varying expression rates influenced the secretion dynamics of the fusion protein in terms of intracellular- and extracellular concentrations. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) folding stress was assessed by the relative expression of the unfolded protein response controlled KAR2 gene. Three predefined methanol feeding models were applied to control the fusion protein synthesis rate. To track the fusion protein synthesis in a non-invasive manner and to follow its intracellular distribution, its C-terminal was linked to the green fluorescent protein. Under all conditions the fusion protein was found to partially accumulate intracellularly, where the major fraction was an insoluble, fluorescent full-sized protein. The high degree of glycosylation of the insoluble fusion protein indicated a secretory bottle-neck in the Golgi-system. This result was consistent with low ER folding stress as quantified by the relative expression of the KAR2 gene. Reduction of recombinant protein synthesis rate, by using lower feed rates of methanol, enhanced extracellular concentrations from 8 to 18 mg·L–1 and reduced the rate of intracellular accumulation. This clearly demonstrates the importance of tuning the synthesis rate with secretory bottle-necks to maintain secretion.

The Pichia pastoris enzyme production platform:From combinatorial library screening to bench-top fermentation on residual cyanobacterial biomass

The demand for industrial enzymes is continually rising,fueled by the growing need to shift towards more sustainable industrial processes.However,making efficient enzyme production strains and identifying optimal enzyme expression conditions remains a challenge.Moreover,the production of the enzymes themselves comes with unavoidable impacts,e.g.,the need to utilize secondary feedstocks.Here,we take a more holistic view of bioprocess development and report an integrative approach that allows us to rapidly identify improved enzyme expression and secretion conditions and make use of cyanobacterial waste biomass as feed for supporting Pichia pastoris fermentation.We demonstrate these capabilities by producing a phytase secreted by P.pastoris that is grown on cyanobacterium hydrolysate and buffered glycerol-complex(BMGY)medium,with genetic expression conditions identified by high-throughput screening of a randomized se-cretion library.When our best-performing strain is grown in a fed-batch fermentation on BMGY,we reach over 7000 U/mL in three days.