Intermittent induction of LEA peptide by lactose enhances the expression of insecticidal proteins in Bacillus thuringiensis
Mahmuda Akthar,
Tomoko Shimokawa,
Yinghan Wu,
Taichi Arita,
Kazuhiro Mizuta,
Yuria Isono,
Minoru Maeda,
Shinya Ikeno
Affiliations
Mahmuda Akthar
Department of Biological Functions Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu Science and Research Park Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Japan
Tomoko Shimokawa
Department of Biological Functions Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu Science and Research Park Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Japan
Yinghan Wu
Department of Biological Functions Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu Science and Research Park Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Japan
Taichi Arita
Department of Biological Functions Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu Science and Research Park Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Japan
Kazuhiro Mizuta
Department of Biological Functions Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu Science and Research Park Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Japan
Yuria Isono
Department of Biological Functions Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu Science and Research Park Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Japan
Minoru Maeda
Bioindustry Division Kyushu Medical Co, LTD Fukuoka Japan
Shinya Ikeno
Department of Biological Functions Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu Science and Research Park Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Japan
Cry toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been extensively applied in agriculture to substitute the use of chemical insecticides. We have previously reported the use of a coexpression system in which late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) peptides under the control of the lac promoter increase the expression of insecticidal proteins in Bt. The use of lactose to induce the expression of LEA peptides may be a desirable alternative to isopropyl β‐D‐thiogalactopyranoside, the most frequently used inducer for recombinant protein expression. In this study we investigated the use of lactose as an inducer for optimal protein expression. We observed enhanced insecticidal Cry protein expression by applying a simple technique based on intermittent induction, and then optimized concentration and the point of induction time from the 11th h to the 15th h. Our data suggest that intermittent induction of lactose might be a new technique for the enhancement of bacterial protein expression.
