Design of an optimised fed-batch process for insulin precursor production in Pichia pastoris

• Main Author: Bhardwaj, Vinayak
• Other Authors: Harrison, STL
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2014
• Subjects: Bioprocess Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10120

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-103). === The increasing prevalence of diabetes worldwide has greatly increased the demand for insulin, a key type of treatment for many diabetics. For this purpose, the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris has emerged as an additional microbial host for recombinant insulin production. A genetically modified Pichia pastoris MutS strain, engineered to produce the insulin precursor, was used as the experimental system in this study in order to optimise the insulin production process. The experimental system developed in this study employed a two-stage fed-batch feeding strategy in which growth was optimised by feeding glycerol to boost biomass followed by induction of the gene encoding insulin precursor by feeding methanol.