Engineering an Escherichia coli based in vivo mRNA manufacturing platform

Abstract

Synthetic mRNA is currently produced in standardized in vitro transcription systems. However, this one‐size‐fits‐all approach has associated drawbacks in supply chain shortages, high reagent costs, complex product‐related impurity profiles, and limited design options for molecule‐specific optimization of product yield and quality. Herein, we describe for the first time development of an in vivo mRNA manufacturing platform, utilizing an Escherichia coli cell chassis. Coordinated mRNA, DNA, cell and media engineering, primarily focussed on disrupting interactions between synthetic mRNA molecules and host cell RNA degradation machinery, increased product yields >40‐fold compared to standard “unengineered” E. coli expression systems. Mechanistic dissection of cell factory performance showed that product mRNA accumulation levels approached theoretical limits, accounting for ~30% of intracellular total RNA mass, and that this was achieved via host‐cell's reallocating biosynthetic capacity away from endogenous RNA and cell biomass generation activities. We demonstrate that varying sized functional mRNA molecules can be produced in this system and subsequently purified. Accordingly, this study introduces a new mRNA production technology, expanding the solution space available for mRNA manufacturing.