Biotech Updates

Expression of a Recombinant Microbial Transglutaminase in Escherichia coli

September 23, 2015

Bacterial transglutaminases are required as industrial reagents for the modification of proteins in different industries. Barbara Salis of the Sardinia Scientific and Technological Park led researchers in studying the production in Escherichia coli of a recombinant transglutaminase from Streptomyces mobaraensis (MTGase).

Thermoinducible and constitutive expression vectors expressing Met-MTGase were constructed for the transformation of E. coli strains. After transformation, competent Escherichia coli K12 strains were evaluated to select the best conditions for Met-MTGase expression. The two best performing fusion protein systems were from E. coli strains NP668/1 and NP650/1. The fusion proteins from both strains were then compared the protein product of wild types.

The fusion protein from NP668/1 strain, which was found to perform comparable to the wild-type enzyme, was then selected as a candidate for producing microbial transglutaminase for industrial applications.

For more on the study, feel free to visit the full article on BMC Plant Biotechnology.