title: Alternative Eukaryotic Expression Systems for the Production of Proteins and Protein Complexes.
abstract: Besides the most established expression hosts, several eukaryotic microorganisms and filamentous fungi have also been successfully used as platforms for the production of foreign proteins. Filamentous fungi and Dictyostelium discoideum are two prominent examples. Filamentous fungi, typically Aspergillus and Trichoderma, are usually employed for the industrial production of enzymes and secondary metabolites for food processing, pharmaceutical drugs production, and textile and paper applications, with multiple products already accepted for their commercialization. The low cost of culture medium components, high secretion capability directly to the extracellular medium, and the intrinsic ability to produce post-translational modifications similar to the mammalian type, have promoted this group as successful hosts for the expression of proteins, including examples from phylogenetically distant groups: humans proteins such as IL-2, IL-6 or epithelial growth factor; α-galactosidase from plants; or endoglucanase from Cellulomonas fimi, among others. D. discoideum is a social amoeba that can be used as an expression platform for a variety of proteins, which has been extensively illustrated for cytoskeletal proteins. New vectors for heterologous expression in D. discoideum have been recently developed that might increase the usefulness of this system and expand the range of protein classes that can be tackled. Continuous developments are ongoing to improve strains, promoters, production and downstream processes for filamentous fungi, D. discoideum, and other alternative eukaryotic hosts. Either for the overexpression of individual genes, or in the coexpression of multiples genes, this chapter illustrates the enormous possibilities offered by these groups of eukaryotic organisms.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biological Research, Spanish National Research Council (CIB-CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.affiliation: Center for Biological Research, Spanish National Research Council (CIB-CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López-Estepa
authors.affiliation: Center for Biological Research, Spanish National Research Council (CIB-CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.affiliation: Center for Biological Research, Spanish National Research Council (CIB-CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040, Madrid, Spain. teresa@cib.csic.es.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suárez
authors.affiliation: Center for Biological Research, Spanish National Research Council (CIB-CSIC), Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040, Madrid, Spain. cvega@cib.csic.es.
authors.forename: M Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Vega
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005658:Fungi / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D021122:Protein Subunits; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D021122:Protein Subunits; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
keywords: Aspergillus; Dictyostelium discoideum; Filamentous fungi; Hypocrea; Trichoderma