Objectives
A chaperonin, PsyGroELS, from the Antarctic psychrophilic bacterium Psychrobacter sp. PAMC21119, was examined for its role in cold adaptation when expressed in a mesophilic Escherichia coli strain.
Results
Growth of E. coli harboring PsyGroELS at 10 °C was increased compared to the control strain. A co-expression system using PsyGroELS was developed to increase productivity of the psychrophilic enzyme PsyEst9. PsyEst9 was cloned and expressed using three E. coli variants that co-expressed GroELS from PAMC21119, E. coli, or Oleispira antarctica RB8T. Co-expression with PsyGroELS was more effective for the production of PsyEst9 compared tothe other chaperonins.
Conclusion
PsyGroELS confers cold tolerance to E. coli, and shows potential as an effective co-expression system for the stable production of psychrophilic proteins.