Stepwise optimization of a low-temperature Bacillus subtilis expression system for "difficult to express" proteins.

In order to improve the overproduction of "difficult to express" proteins, a low-temperature expression system for Bacillus subtilis based on the cold-inducible promoter of the desaturase-encoding des gene was constructed. Selected regulatory DNA sequence elements from B. subtilis genes known to be cold-inducible were fused to different model genes. It could be demonstrated that these regulatory elements are able to mediate increased heterologous gene expression, either by improved translation efficiency or by higher messenger RNA (mRNA) stability. In case of a cold-adapted β-galactosidase from Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAE79A serving as the model, significantly higher expression was achieved by fusing its coding sequence to the so-called "downstream box" sequence of cspB encoding the major B. subtilis cold-shock protein. The combination of this fusion with a cspB 5'-UTR stem-loop structure resulted in further enhancement of the β-galactosidase expression. In addition, integration of the transcription terminator of the B. subtilis cold-inducible bkd operon downstream of the target genes caused a higher mRNA stability and enabled thus a further significant increase in expression. Finally, the fully optimized expression system was validated by overproducing a B. subtilis xylanase as well as an α-glucosidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the latter known for tending to form inclusion bodies. These analyses verified the applicability of the engineered expression system for extracellular and intracellular protein synthesis in B. subtilis, thereby confirming the suitability of this host organism for the overproduction of critical, poorly soluble proteins.