The impact of phosphate scarcity on pharmaceutical protein production in <it>S. cerevisiae</it>: linking transcriptomic insights to phenotypic responses

• Main Authors: Kazemi Seresht Ali, Palmqvist Eva, Olsson Lisbeth
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2011-12-01
• Series: Microbial Cell Factories
• Subjects: Phosphate regulation; heterologous protein production; chemostat cultivations; human insulin; secretory flux; <it>TPI1 </it>promoter
• Online Access: http://www.microbialcellfactories.com/content/10/1/104

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The adaptation of unicellular organisms like <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>to alternating nutrient availability is of great fundamental and applied interest, as understanding how eukaryotic cells respond to variations in their nutrient supply has implications spanning from physiological insights to biotechnological applications.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The impact of a step-wise restricted supply of phosphate on the physiological state of <it>S. cerevisiae </it>cells producing human Insulin was studied. The focus was to determine the changes within the global gene expression of cells being cultured to an industrially relevant high cell density of 33 g/l cell dry weight and under six distinct phosphate concentrations, ranging from 33 mM (unlimited) to 2.6 mM (limited). An increased flux through the secretory pathway, being induced by the <it>PHO </it>circuit during low P_isupplementation, proved to enhance the secretory production of the heterologous protein. The re-distribution of the carbon flux from biomass formation towards increased glycerol production under low phosphate led to increased transcript levels of the insulin gene, which was under the regulation of the <it>TPI1 </it>promoter.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study underlines the dynamic character of adaptive responses of cells towards a change in their nutrient access. The gradual decrease of the phosphate supply resulted in a step-wise modulated phenotypic response, thereby alternating the specific productivity and the secretory flux. Our work emphasizes the importance of reduced phosphate supply for improved secretory production of heterologous proteins.</p>