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Batch-wise sorbitol addition as a co-substrate at the induction phase of methanol fed-batch fermentation by Pichia pastoris (Mut + ) was proposed as a beneficial recombinant protein production strategy and the metabolic responses to methanol feeding rate in the presence of sorbitol was systematically investigated. Adding sorbitol batch-wise to the medium provided the following advantages over growth on methanol alone: (a) eliminating the long lag-phase for the cells and reaching 'high cell density production' at t = 24 h of the process (C X = 70 g CDW/l); (b) achieving 1.8-fold higher recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) (at t = 18 h); (c) reducing specific protease production 1.2-fold; (d) eliminating the lactic acid build-up period; (e) lowering the oxygen uptake rate two-fold; and (f) obtaining 1.4-fold higher overall yield coefficients. The maximum specific alcohol oxidase activity was not affected in the presence of sorbitol, and it was observed that sorbitol and methanol were utilized simultaneously. Thus, in the presence of sorbitol, 130 mg/l rHuEPO was produced at t = 24 h, compared to 80 mg/l rHuEPO (t = 24 h) on methanol alone. This work demonstrates not only the ease and efficiency of incorporating sorbitol to fermentations by Mut + strains of P. pastoris for the production of any bioproduct, but also provides new insights into the metabolism of the methylotrophic yeast P. pastoris.

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BACKGROUND: Effects of co-substrate sorbitol different feeding strategies on recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) production by Pichia pastoris hGH-Mut + were investigated by eight designed experiments grouped as: (i) fed-batch methanol feeding without the co-substrate; (ii) fed-batch methanol feeding with pulse sorbitol feeding; (iii) fed-batch methanol feeding together with fed-batch sorbitol feeding at t = 0-15 h, followed by fed-batch methanol feeding; and (iv) fed-batch methanol and sorbitol feeding at t = 0-30 h, followed with fed-batch methanol feeding. RESULTS:The highest rhGH and cell concentrations were achieved, respectively, as 0.64 g L −1 and 105 g L −1 at t = 42 h of induction phase, with the strategy where methanol was fed to the system at a pre-determined feeding rate of µ M0 =0.03 h −1 , and sorbitol concentration was kept at 50 g L −1 at t = 0-15 h of the rhGH production phase where the specific growth rate on sorbitol was µ S0 =0.025 h −1 . The overall cell and product yield on total substrate were found as 0.26 g g −1 and 2.26 mg g −1 , respectively. CONCLUSION: This work demonstrates that co-carbon source, sorbitol, feeding strategy is as important as methanol feeding strategy in recombinant protein production by Mut + strains of P. pastoris.

The influence of carbon sources on rhGH (recombinant human growth hormone) production by two Pichia pastoris strains having different methanol utilization phenotypes (P. pastoris-hGH-Mut(+) and P. pastoris-hGH-Mut(s)) was investigated using batch bioreactors. The effect of methanol concentration (C(MeOH)) in defined and complex media, and further glycerol/methanol mixed defined media, was analysed systematically over a wide range. With methanol as the sole carbon source, strain Mut(s) grew only slightly, whereas with Mut(+), a cell concentration (C(X)) of 6.0 g of dry cells/dm(3) was obtained and an rhGH concentration (C(rhGH)) of 0.032 g/dm(3) was produced. In complex medium without glycerol at a C(MeOH) of 2% (v/v), a C(rhGH) of 0.16 g of rhGH/dm(3) was produced by Mut(s), a value 3-fold higher than that produced by Mut(+), despite the fact that the C(X) of Mut(+) (6.1 g/dm(3)) was 2-fold higher than that of Mut(s) (3.0 g/dm(3)). In a glycerol/methanol mixed defined medium, methanol consumption began when glycerol was totally depleted, indicating that glycerol is a repressor of the AOX1 (alcohol oxidase-1 gene) promoter. With strain Mut(s) at a glycerol concentration (C(Gly)) of 30 g/dm(3) and a C(MeOH) of 1% (v/v), the C(rhGH) produced was 0.11 g/dm(3), whereas, with the Mut(+) strain, a C(rhGH) of 0.06 g/dm(3) was obtained at a C(Gly) of 30 g/dm(3) and a C(MeOH) of 4%. As methanol is not consumed by Mut(s) strain effectively and the presence of methanol in the fermentation broth triggers induction of the AOX1 promoter, our results encourage the use of the Mut(s) strain for rhGH production. In addition to rhGH production, the specific cell growth rates, specific methanol and/or glycerol utilization rates and maintenance coefficients in methanol- and glycerol-based defined media were determined. With a methanol-based defined medium and using the Mut(+) strain, a higher specific growth rate (mu) of approx. 0.14 h(-1) was observed during the exponential cell growth phase at a C(MeOH) of

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The intracellular metabolic fluxes through the central carbon pathways in the bioprocess for recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) production by Pichia pastoris (Mut(+)) were calculated to investigate the metabolic effects of dual carbon sources (methanol/sorbitol) and the methanol feed rate, and to obtain a deeper understanding of the regulatory circuitry of P. pastoris, using the established stoichiometry-based model containing 102 metabolites and 141 reaction fluxes. Four fed-batch operations with (MS-) and without (M-) sorbitol were performed at three different constant specific growth rates (h(-1)), and denoted as M-0.03, MS-0.02, MS-0.03, and MS-0.04. Considering the methanol consumption pathway, the M-0.03 and MS-0.02 conditions produced similar effects and had >85% of formaldehyde flux towards the assimilatory pathway. In contrast, the use of the dual carbon source condition generated a shift in metabolism towards the dissimilatory pathway that corresponded to the shift in dilution rate from MS-0.03 to MS-0.04, indicating that the methanol feed exceeded the metabolic requirements at the higher micro(0). Comparing M-0.03 and MS-0.03 conditions, which had the same methanol feeding rates, sorbitol addition increased the rHuEPO synthetic flux 4.4-fold. The glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and PPP pathways worked uninterruptedly only at MS-0.02 condition. PPP and TCA cycles worked with the highest disturbances at MS-0.04 condition, which shows the stress of increased feeding rates of methanol on cell metabolism.