Combined effect of the methanol utilization (Mut) phenotype and gene dosage on recombinant protein production in Pichia pastoris fed-batch cultures

An important number of heterologous proteins have been produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris using the alcohol oxidase promoter. Two factors that drastically influence protein production and cultivation process development in this system are gene dosage and methanol assimilation capacity of the host strain (Mut phenotype). Using a battery of four strains which secrete a Rhizopus oryzae lipase (ROL), the combined effects of gene dosage and Mut phenotype on recombinant protein production in Pichia pastoris was studied in fed-batch cultures. Regarding the effect of phenotype, the specific productivity and the Y P/X were 1.29- and 2.34-fold higher for Mut s ROL single copy strain than for Mut + ROL single copy strain. On the contrary, the productivity of Mut + ROL single copy strain was 1.34-fold higher than Mut s ROL single copy strain. An increase in ROL gene dosage seems to negatively affect cell's performance in bioreactor cultures, particularly in Mut s strains. Overall, the Mut s strain may be still advantageous to use because it allows for easier process control strategies.