Overexpression and lack of degradation of thaumatin in an aspergillopepsinA-defective mutant of Aspergillus awamori containing an insertion in the pepA gene
Fj. Moralejo et al., Overexpression and lack of degradation of thaumatin in an aspergillopepsinA-defective mutant of Aspergillus awamori containing an insertion in the pepA gene, APPL MICR B, 54(6), 2000, pp. 772-777
A gene encoding the sweet-tasting protein thaumatin (tha) with optimized co
don usage was expressed in Aspergillus awamori. Mutants of A. awamori with
reduced proteolytic activity were isolated. One of these mutants, named lpr
-66, contained an insertion of about 200 bp in the pepA gene, resulting in
an inactive aspergillopepsin A. In vitro thaumatin degradation tests confir
med that culture broths of mutant lpr66 showed only a small thaumatin-degra
ding activity. A. awamori lpr66 has been used as host strain for thaumatin
expression cassettes containing the tha gene under the control of either th
e cahB (cephalosporin acetylhydrolase) promoter of Acremonium chrysogenum o
r the gdhA (glutamate dehydrogenase) promoter of Aspergillus awamori. Resid
ual proteolytic activities were repressed by using a mixture of glucose and
sucrose as carbon sources and L-asparagine as nitrogen source. Degradation
of thaumatin by acidic proteases was prevented by maintaining the pH value
at 6.2 in the fermenter. Expression of cassettes containing the gdhA promo
ter was optimal in ammonium sulfate as nitrogen source, whereas transforman
ts expressing the tha gene from the cahB promoter yielded higher thaumatin
levels using L-asparagine as nitrogen source. Under optimal fermentation co
nditions, yields of 105 mg thaumatin/l were obtained, thus making this ferm
entation a process of industrial interest.