• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 1992

The influence of the nature of plasmids on fermentation parameters such as cell growth, cell viability, plasmid stability, and product formation has been investigated using E. coli M5248 and its recombinant derivatives M5248 [pBR322], M5248[pAS1], and M5248[pNKM21]. At a low temperature ($30^\circ{C}$), the cell growth, cell viability, and protein synthesis of the recombinants were nearly identical to those of the host cell. However, at high temperature ($42^\circ{C}$), in which transcription from the P_L$ promoter is derepressed, the recombinant cells showed decreased stability along with lower growth rates and cell viability. The ratio of total protein to cell mass was in the order of E. coli M5248>M5248[pBR322]>M5248[pAS1]>M5248[pNKM21]. It was found that transcription from the $P_L$ promoter adversely affect the plasmid maintenance and host cell metabolism even in the absence of the cloned-gene expression. Furthermore, profiles of ${\beta}$ activity were shown to vary with recombinant strains. E coli M5248[pBR322] showed highest ${\beta}-lactamase$ activity at $30^\circ{C}$, while at $42^\circ{C}\;{\beta}-lactamase$ activity was significantly reduced irrespective of the strains. The effect of the plasmid properties on plasmid-encoded gene expression has been further examined based on the relationship between $\{beta}-lactamase$ activity and plasmid-harboring cell numbers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.26-34
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• 1992

The effect of induction temperature on fermentation parameters has been investigated extensively using Escherichia coli M5248[pNKM21], a producer of recombinant human interleukin-2 (rhIL-2). In this recombinant microorganism, the gene expression of rhIL-2 is regulated by the cI857 repressor and $P_L$ promoter system. The recombinant fermentation parameters studied in this work include the cell growth, protein synthesis, cell viability, plasmid stability, $\beta$-lactamase activity, and rhIL-2 productivity. Interrelationships of such fermentation parameters have been analyzed through a quantitative assessment of the experimental data set obtained at eight different culture conditions. While the expression of rhIL-2 gene was repressed at culture temperatures below $34^\circ{C}$ with little effect on other fermentation parameters, under the conditions of rhIL-2 production $>(36~44^\circ{C})$ the cell growth, plasmid stability, and $\beta$-lactamase activity were, as induction temperature was increased, more profoundly reduced. Although the rhIL-2 content in the insoluble protein fraction was maximum at $40^\circ{C}$, total rhIL-2 production in the culture volume was found to be highest at the induction temperature of $36^\circ{C}$. This was in contrast to the previously known optimum induction temperature of the P$_{L}$ promoter system $>(40~42^\circ{C})$.Explanations for such a discrepancy have been proposed based on a product formation kinetics, and their implications have been discussed in detail.l.