Expression of plant proteins in Pichia pastoris

Various plant proteins are to be expressed in Pichia pastoris in our ongoing project. The Invitrogen¡¦s expression vectors and strains are applied on the heterologous production and we have converted the expression vectors Gateway compatible in order to facilitate the cloning steps. The proteins are produced in secreted form either with their native signal sequences or with the aid of mating factor ƒÑ prepro sequence. With one the proteins, the codon usage has been optimized for expression in P. pastoris, and it will be expressed both in secreted form, with its own signal sequence and with MfƒÑ prepro sequence, and intracellularly. Expression of one of these plant proteins will be presented as a case, and the effect of the cultivation conditions on the amount and activity of the product will be discussed.