Reduction of acetate production in Escherichia coli for increased recombinant protein production

摘要

The fermentation of E. coli for the commercial production of recombinant proteins has increased significantly in recent years. The production of acetate as a fermentation byproduct has been a significant problem because it retards cell growth, inhibits protein formation, and diverts carbon from biomass and protein product. Our approach to reducing acetate accumulation was to disable the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PEP-PTS) by deleting the ptsHI operon in the wild-type E. coli strain GJT001. The mutant strain (TC110) displayed severely reduced growth rate and glucose uptake rate in glucose-supplemented M9 Minimal medium, which confirmed the mutation. TC110 apparently metabolized glucose by a non-PTS mechanism that we are currently investigating, followed by phosphorylation by glucokinase.