title: Effects of fermentation strategy on the characteristics of plasmid DNA production.
abstract: The synthesis of supercoiled plasmid DNA (SC-pDNA) for therapeutic use will involve large-scale production in bioreactors. The success of these fermentations will be dependent on the interactions between the host organism, the recombinant plasmid vector and the growth environment. In the present study, the recombinant host, Escherichia coli DH5 alpha bearing the recombinant plasmid pSV beta, was grown in shake flasks, batch and exponentially fed-batch bioreactors. Specific and volumetric pDNA yields were increased 8- and 25-fold respectively using exponentially fed-batch cultures in comparison with shake-flask cultures. The percentage of SC-pDNA as a proportion of total plasmid DNA decreased over time in batch cultures, but remained relatively constant during fed-batch cultures. The relative merits of different modes of fermentation and their effects on the quality of alkaline lysate extracts of pDNA with respect to genomic contamination and the percentage of SC-pDNA are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering, Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK.
authors.forename: Ronan D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: O'Kennedy
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Keshavarz-Moore
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003470:Culture Media / Q000494:pharmacology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005285:Fermentation / Q000502:physiology; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media