Heterologous Protein Expression in Neurospora

本研究将探讨粗神经孢子虫表达和分泌具有生物活性的哺乳动物蛋白的能力。虽然细菌和酵母菌已经经过基因工程改造，但这些生物的重组产品通常需要额外的纯化和处理。包括神经孢子菌在内的丝状真菌能够高效地表达、修饰和分泌大量的异源蛋白。在这里概述的实验中，编码大鼠松弛素和牛凝乳酶的cdna将置于N. Crassa β -微管蛋白基因启动子和终止子的调控下，并确定这些基因的表达能力和分泌蛋白质的能力。如果成功，这些研究将能够以较低的成本开发粗神经孢子虫的替代表达系统。

The proposed research will investigate the ability of Neurospora crassa to express and secrete biologically active mammalian proteins. Although bacteria and yeast have been genetically engineered for this purpose, recombinant products from these organisms often require additional purification and processing. Filamentous fungi, including Neurospora can efficiently express, modify and secrete heterologous proteins in significant quantities. In the experiments outlined here, cDNAs encoding rat relaxin and bovine chymosin will be placed under the regulation of N. Crassa beta-tubulin gene promoter and terminator, and the ability to express these genes and secrete the proteins will be determined. If successful, these studies will enable the development of an alternate expression system in Neurospora crassa at a lower cost.