Recombinant protein expression in Escherichia coli: advances and challenges

Front Microbiol. 2014 Apr 17:5:172. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00172. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Escherichia coli is one of the organisms of choice for the production of recombinant proteins. Its use as a cell factory is well-established and it has become the most popular expression platform. For this reason, there are many molecular tools and protocols at hand for the high-level production of heterologous proteins, such as a vast catalog of expression plasmids, a great number of engineered strains and many cultivation strategies. We review the different approaches for the synthesis of recombinant proteins in E. coli and discuss recent progress in this ever-growing field.

Keywords: E. coli expression strains; Escherichia coli; affinity tags; expression plasmid; inclusion bodies; recombinant protein expression.

Publication types

  • Review