Open AccessStability of recombinant protein production by Penicillium chrysogenum in prolonged chemostat culture
Author(s) -
Withers Julie M.,
Wiebe Marilyn G.,
Robson Geoffrey D.,
Osborne David,
Turner Geoffrey,
Trinci Anthony P.J.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1995.tb07892.x
Subject(s) - chemostat , penicillium chrysogenum , heterologous , biology , strain (injury) , recombinant dna , overproduction , microbiology and biotechnology , mutant , fungi imperfecti , biochemistry , bacteria , gene , genetics , anatomy
A strain (WKW2) of Penicillium chrysogenum transformed with heterologous fungal acetamidase ( amd S) and bacterial β‐galactosidase ( lac Z) was grown at a dilution rate of 0.17 h −1 (doubling time of approx. 4.1 h) for 1600 h in a glucose‐limited culture. By the end of the experiment the original strain had been almost completely replaced by spontaneous, morphological mutants, but the acetamidase and β‐galactosidase activities of the culture were essentially unaltered. Furthermore, when WKW2 and the non‐transformed parental strain (NRRL1951) were grown together in glucose‐ or NH 4 + ‐limited chemostat cultures, neither strain had a selective advantage over the other. Thus, heterologous gene expression does not result in NRRL1951 having a selective advantage over WKW2. These results suggest that continuous flow culture systems could be used for efficient (and cost effective) production of recombinant proteins.