Intellectual Property Office

Non-Confidential Disclosures

"2005-3027 "The MODULE Expression System for Producing Affinity Tagged Proteins and Protein Complexes in E. coli" "

PSU Invention Disclosure Number 2005-3027

Field of the Invention:

Genetics and Molecular Biology, Biotechnology

Inventors:

Song Tan

Background:

Protein complexes mediate critical functions in cells. There is a growing recognition that protein complexes and not individual proteins are responsible for key cellular processes. Consequently, there is a pressing need for efficient methods to produce protein complexes. However, current methods to produce recombinant protein complexes for biochemical or biophysical experiments are limited and tedious.

Invention description:

We have developed a novel modular system for expressing both individual proteins and protein complexes in E. coli. Individual proteins can be tagged at the N- or C-terminus with 6 permanent or cleavable affinity tags. Groups of individual proteins can then be coexpressed from a single polycistronic expression plasmid to reconstitute protein complexes in a cellular environment. The MODULE expression system has been successfully used to produce and purify two, three and four subunit protein complexes of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic origins.

Advantages:

• Enables low cost production of active protein complexes in well characterized E. coli host
  
• Allows efficient purification of recombinant protein complexes.
  
• Modular design and suite of 72 plasmids facilitates rapid incorporation of affinity tags (N- or C-term, single or double tags, cleavable or permanent tags).
  
• Modular design also enables facile creation of plasmids to express variant plasmids containing point mutation or deletions in any subunit.
• Single plasmid design is compatible with popular CodonPlus and Rosetta E. coli expression strains used to overcome codon bias in target genes.
  

Contact:

James F. Kolonay, Ph.D.
Technology Licensing Officer
Intellectual Property Office
113 Technology Center
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802-7000
Phone: (814) 863-7070
Fax: (814) 865-3591
E-mail: jfk11@psu.edu