EXPRESSION OF THE 18KDA PROTEIN OF MYCOBACTERIUM-LEPRAE IN SACCHAROMYCES-CEREVISIAE

Mycobacterium leprae, the etiologic agent of leprosy, until now has no t been grown in vitro, resulting in exceedingly obstacles for the prod uction of purified antigens. It is therefore of interest to clone the relevant M. leprae antigens in other easy to handle microbial hosts. H ere, we describe two different systems for expressing the 18kDa antige n of M. leprae in S. cerevisiae. Each system was shown to be effective in antigen expression, but the secretion system provided easier purif ication. Working with different host strains under different growth co nditions, large quantities of biologically active proteins were obtain ed.