Abstract
The Escherichia coli (E. coli) expression system has been widely used to produce recombinant proteins. However, in some heterologous expressions, there are still difficulties in large-scale production. The use of fusion partners is one of the strategies for improving the expression levels of proteins in E. coli host. Here, we demonstrate a novel fusion element, the NT11-tag, which enhances protein expression. The NT11-tag was derived from the first 11 amino acid residues within the N-terminal N-half domain of a duplicated carbonic anhydrase (dCA) from Dunaliella species. Previously, we have found that the tag improves expression of the C-half domain of dCA when linked to its N-terminus. To verify its use as a protein production enhancer tag, two kinds of CAs derived from Hahella chejuensis (Hc-CA) and Thermovibrio ammonifican (Ta-CA) and the yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) were used as model proteins to measure their increased expression upon fusion with the NT11-tag. The NT11-tag amplified protein expression in E. coli by 6.9- and 7.6-fold for Ta-CA and YFP, respectively. Moreover, the tag also enhanced the soluble expression of Hc-CA, Ta-CA, and YFP by 1.7-, 5.0-, and 3.2-fold, respectively. Furthermore, protein yield was increased without inhibiting protein function. These results indicate that the use of the NT11-tag is a promising method for improving protein production in E. coli.
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Funding
This work was supported by the Basic Core Technology Development Program for the Oceans and the Polar Regions of the National Research Foundation (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Korea (NRF-2015M1A5A1037054) and a Marine Biomaterials Research Center grant from the Marine Biotechnology Program funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea. This work was also supported by Research Fellow Funding grant funded by the Ministry of Education, Korea (NRF-2014R1A1A2008088) and BK21 plus.
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Nguyen, T.K.M., Ki, M.R., Son, R.G. et al. The NT11, a novel fusion tag for enhancing protein expression in Escherichia coli. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 103, 2205–2216 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-09595-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-09595-w