Effect of Ethanol Accumulation on Porcine Interferon-α Production by Pichia pastoris and Activities of Key Enzymes in Carbon Metabolism

Abstract

In production of porcine interferon α (pIFN-α) by Pichia pastoris, improper glycerol feeding strategy leads to ethanol accumulation in the last stage of growth phase. In the present study, taking two runs with low ethanol accumulation under 2 g/L as control group, effects of long-term (>4 h) and instantaneous high ethanol concentration (>10 g/L) on pIFN-α production, and activities of key enzymes in carbon metabolism were discussed. As a result, compared with control group, pIFN-α expression level was decreased about 4~12 folds under long-term high ethanol concentration, from the level above 3 g/L to the level under 1 g/L; pIFN-α expression level was decreased about 8 folds under instantaneous high ethanol concentration, reaching to the low level of 0.42 g/L. The low production of pIFN-α was caused by the severe inhibitory effect of ethanol on these enzymes.