Escherichia coli is a heavily used platform for the production of biotherapeutic and other high-value proteins, and a favored strategy is to export the protein of interest to the periplasm to simplify downstream processing and facilitate disulfide bond formation. The Sec pathway is the standard means of transporting the target protein but it is unable to transport complex or rapidly folding proteins because the Sec system can only transport proteins in an unfolded state. The Tat system also operates to transport proteins to the periplasm, and it has significant potential as an alternative means of recombinant protein production because it transports fully folded proteins. Here, we have tested the Tat system's full potential for the production of biotherapeutics for the first time using fed-batch fermentation. We expressed human growth hormone (hGH) with a Tat signal peptide in E. coli W3110 "TatExpress" strains that contain elevated levels of the Tat apparatus. This construct contained four amino acids from TorA at the hGH N-terminus as well as the initiation methionine from hGH, which is removed in vivo. We show that the protein is efficiently exported to the periplasm during extended fed-batch fermentation, to the extent that it is by far the most abundant protein in the periplasm. The protein was shown to be homogeneous, disulfide bonded, and active. The bioassay showed that the yields of purified periplasmic hGH are 5.4 g/L culture whereas an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay gave a figure of 2.39 g/L. Separate analysis of a TorA signal peptide linked to hGH construct lacking any additional amino acids likewise showed efficient export to the periplasm, although yields were approximately two-fold lower.

Background: Numerous high-value proteins have been produced in E. coli, and a favoured strategy is to export the protein of interest to the periplasm by means of an N-terminal signal peptide. While the Sec pathway has been extensively used for this purpose, the Tat pathway has potential because it transports fully-folded heterologous proteins. Most studies on the Tat pathway have used the E. coli TorA signal peptide to direct export, because it is highly Tat-specific, unlike many Tat signal peptides which can also function as Sec signal peptides. However, the TorA signal peptide is prone to degradation in the cytoplasm, leading to reduced export rates in some cases. Here, we have tested a range of alternative signal peptides for their ability to direct Tat-dependent export of a single-chain antibody fragment (scFv). Results: We show that the signal peptides of E. coli AmiC, MdoD and YcbK direct efficient export of the scFv by both the Tat and Sec pathways, which may be a disadvantage when Tat-specific export is required. The same applies to the Tat signal peptide of Bacillus subtilis PhoD, which likewise directs efficient export by Sec. We engineered the PhoD signal peptide by introduction of a Lys or Asn residue in the C-terminal domain of the signal peptide, and we show that this substitution renders the signal peptide Tat-specific. These signal peptides, designated PhoDk and PhoDn, direct efficient export of scFv in shake flask and fed-batch fermentation studies, reaching export levels that are well above those obtained with the TorA signal peptide. Culturing in ambr250 bioreactors was used to fine-tune the growth conditions, and the net result was export of the scFv by the Tat pathway at levels of approximately 1g protein/L culture. Conclusions: The new PhoDn and PhoDk signal peptides have significant potential for the export of heterologous proteins by the Tat system.

Background : Numerous high-value proteins have been produced in E. coli, and a favoured strategy is to export the protein of interest to the periplasm by means of an N-terminal signal peptide. While the Sec pathway has been extensively used for this purpose, the Tat pathway has potential because it transports fully-folded heterologous proteins. Most studies on the Tat pathway have used the E. coli TorA signal peptide to direct export, because it is highly Tat-specific, unlike many Tat signal peptides which can also function as Sec signal peptides. However, the TorA signal peptide is prone to degradation in the cytoplasm, leading to reduced export rates in some cases. Here, we have tested a range of alternative signal peptides for their ability to direct Tat-dependent export of a single-chain antibody fragment (scFv). Results : We show that the signal peptides of E. coli AmiC, MdoD and YcbK direct efficient export of the scFv by both the Tat and Sec pathways, which may be a disadvantage when Tat-specific export is required. The same applies to the Tat signal peptide of Bacillus subtilis PhoD, which likewise directs efficient export by Sec. We engineered the PhoD signal peptide by introduction of a Lys or Asn residue in the C-terminal domain of the signal peptide, and we show that this substitution renders the signal peptide Tat-specific. These signal peptides, designated PhoDk and PhoDn, direct efficient export of scFv in shake flask and fed-batch fermentation studies, reaching export levels that are well above those obtained with the TorA signal peptide. Culturing in ambr250 bioreactors was used to fine-tune the growth conditions, and the net result was export of the scFv by the Tat pathway at levels of approximately 1g protein/L culture. Conclusions : The new PhoDn and PhoDk signal peptides have significant potential for the export of heterologous proteins by the Tat system.