Establishment of Neurospora crassa as a host for heterologous protein production using a human antibody fragment as a model product

摘要

BackgroundFilamentous fungi are commonly used as production hosts for bulk enzymes in biotechnological applications. Their robust and quick growth combined with their ability to secrete large amounts of protein directly into the culture medium makes fungi appealing organisms for the generation of novel production systems. The red bread mold Neurospora crassa has long been established as a model system in basic research. It can be very easily genetically manipulated and a wealth of molecular tools and mutants are available. In addition, N. crassa is very fast growing and non-toxic. All of these features point to a high but so far untapped potential of this fungus for biotechnological applications. In this study, we used genetic engineering and bioprocess development in a design-build-test-cycle process to establish N. crassa as a production host for heterologous proteins.