Summary
Many industrial enzymes require metal cofactors, yet their production in new hosts often fails due to overlooked factors like rare codons. These codons, although infrequent, are conserved at key regions and may support correct folding and cofactor incorporation. This project developed software to preserve codon rank order between donor and host organisms, improving heterologous expression. Two tools were completed—one for prokaryote-to-prokaryote expression, and another for expressing genes in human cells. Four CYPs and five ferredoxins were successfully expressed in E. coli using this method, with excellent solubility and cofactor incorporation. Protein family analysis for rare codon conservation is ongoing.
Investigators
Ciarán Kelly, Matt Bashton, Prozomix
Funder
BBSRC Metals in Biology NIBB
Project duration
6 months
