Summary
Biodegradable polymers offer an environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based polymers. Applications of protein based polymers include the use of these compounds in the fields of medicine, molecular-based energy conversions, the manufacture of unique fibers, coatings and biodegradable plastics. We report here expression of a synthetic gene G-(VPGVG) 119-VPGV coding for the EG-120mer (elastomer) in E. coli. Polymer expression is observed in uninduced cells grown in terrific broth in polyacrylamide gels negatively stained with CuCl2. Electron micrographs reveal formation of inclusion bodies in uninduced cells occupying upto 80–90% of the cell volume under optimal growth conditions. To the best of our knowledge this report represents the first demonstration of hyper expression of a synthetic gene (with no natural analog) in E. coli.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brosius, J. (1984). Gene 27, 161–172.
Daniell, H., PoroboDessai, A., Prakash, C.S. and Moar, W.J. (1994). In: Biochemical and Cellular Mechanisms of Stress Tolerance in Plants, J.H. Cherry, ed. vol. H 86, pp. 589–604, NATO ASI Series in Cell Biology, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.
Krejchi, M.T., Atkins, E.D.T., Waddon, A.J., Fournier, M.J., Mason, T.L. and Tirrell, D.A. (1994). Science 265, 1427–1432.
Laemmli, U.K. (1970). Nature 227, 680–685.
Lee, C., Levin, A. and Branton, D. (1987). Anal. Biochem. 166, 308–312.
Lewin, B. (1990). Genes IV, pp. 240. Oxford University Press, New York.
Masui, Y., Mizuno, T. and Inouye, M. (1984). Bio/Technology 2, 81–85.
McPherson, D.T., Morrow, C., Mineham, D.J., Wu, J., Hunter, E. and Urry, D.W. (1992). Biotechnol. Prog. 8, 347–352.
Spurr, A.R. (1969). J. Ultrastruct. Res. 26, 31–36.
Studier, F.W. and Moffat, B.A. (1986). J. Mol. Biol. 189, 113–130.
Tartof, K.D. and Hobbs, C.A. (1987). Bethesda Res. Lab. Focus 9, 12.
Urry, D.W. (1995) Scientific American 272, 64–69.
Urry, D.W., McPherson, D.T., Xu, J., Daniell, H., Guda, C., Gowda, D.C., Jing, N. and Parker, T. M. (1994). In: The Polymeric Materials Encyclopedia: Synthesis, Properties and Applications, J.C. Salamone, ed. pp. 2645–2699, CRC Press, Boca Raton.
Urry, D.W., Nicol, A., Gowda, D.C., Hoban, L.D., McKee, A., Williams, T., Olsen, D.B. and Cox, B.A. (1993). In: Biotechnological Polymers: Medical, Pharmaceutical and Industrial Applications, C.G. Gebelein, ed. Technomic Publishing Co., Inc., Atlanta, GA.
Urry, D.W., Parker, T.M., Reid, M.C. and Gowda, D.C. (1991). J. Bioactive Compatible Polym. 6, 263–282.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guda, C., Zhang, X., McPherson, D.T. et al. Hyper expression of an environmentally friendly synthetic polymer gene. Biotechnol Lett 17, 745–750 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00130362
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00130362