Paweł Filipkowski

EFFICIENT PRODUCTION OF Staphylococcus simulans LYSOSTAPHIN IN A BENCHTOP BIOREACTOR BY RECOMBINANT Escherichia coli

Lysostaphin is an enzyme with bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus and other staphylococcal species. In spite of many advantages and promising results of preliminary research, the enzyme is still not widely used in medicine, veterinary medicine, or as a food preservative. One of the most important factors limiting application of the enzyme in clinical or technological practice is the high cost of its production. In this study we have determined the optimal conditions for lysostaphin production in a 5-L batch bioreactor. The enzyme production was based on a heterologous, Escherichia coli expression system designated as pBAD2Lys and constructed earlier in our laboratory. An evident influence of physicochemical conditions of the process (areation, pH and temperature) and composition of the growing media on the amount and activity of produced enzyme was noticed. Efficiency of production of about 13,000 U/L has been achieved in the optimal conditions of the production process: low aeration (400 rpm of mechanical stirrer), pH 6, and temperature 37°C in classical LB medium. Further, about twofold improvement in the production efficiency of the enzyme was achieved as a result of modification of composition of growing media. Finally, more than 80,000 units of lysostaphin were obtained from one (batch) bioreactor with 3 L of culture of E. coli TOP10F’ transformed with pBAD2Lys plasmid. To the best of our knowledge, this is the most efficient method of production of recombinant lysostaphin in E. coli expression systems described to date.

Expression of Deinococcus geothermalis trehalose synthase gene in Escherichia coli and its enzymatic properties

A novel trehalose synthase gene from Deinococcus geothermalis (DSMZ 11300) containing 1692 bp reading-frame encoding 564 amino acids was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The gene was ligated into pET30Ek/LIC vector and expressed after isopropyl β-D-thiogalactopyranoside induction in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) pLys S. The recombinant trehalose synthase ( Dgeo TreS) containing a His 6 tag at the C-terminus was purified by metal affinity chromatography and characterized. The expressed enzyme is a homodimer with deduced molecular mass of 64.69 kDa for each subunit, and exhibits the highest activity at pH and temperature of 7.6 and 40°C, respectively. The activity of Dgeo TreS was almost unchanged after 8 h preincubation at 40°C and pH 7.6, and retained about 57% of maximal value after 8 h of incubation at 55°C. The Dge oTreS was highly inhibited by Cu 2+ , Hg 2+ and 10 mM Tris as well as by EDTA when its concentration exceeded 1 mM, but slightly activated by 1 mM dithiotreitol. The K m and k cat values of maltose conversion were 254 mM and 31.86 s -1 , respectively. Keywords: Trehalose synthase, Deinococcus geothermalis , transglucosylation, gene expression, Escherichia coli