Expression, Purification, and Characterization of Plasmodium vivax Lactate Dehydrogenase from Bacteria without Codon Optimization

is the most widespread cause of malaria, especially in subtropical and temperate regions such as Asia-Pacific and America. lactate dehydrogenase (PvLDH), an essential enzyme in the glycolytic pathway, is required for the development and reproduction of the parasite. Thus, LDH from these parasites has garnered attention as a diagnostic biomarker for malaria and as a potential molecular target for developing antimalarial drugs. In this study, we prepared a transformed strain for the overexpression of PvLDH without codon optimization. We introduced this recombinant plasmid DNA prepared by insertion of the gene in the pET-21a(+) expression vector, into the Rosetta(DE3), an strain suitable for eukaryotic protein expression. The time, temperature, and inducer concentration for PvLDH expression from this Rosetta(DE3), containing the original gene, were optimized. We obtained PvLDH with a 31.0 mg/L yield and high purity (>95%) from this Rosetta(DE3) strain. The purified protein was characterized structurally and functionally. The PvLDH expressed and purified from transformed bacteria without codon optimization was successfully demonstrated to exhibit its potential tetramer structure and enzyme activity. These findings are expected to provide valuable insights for research on infectious diseases, metabolism, diagnostics, and therapeutics for malaria caused by .