Chapter Three - Production of enzymes: Fermentation and genetic engineering

Abstract

Producing a pure enzyme requires it to be overproduced. To obtain this overproduction, several drawbacks must be overcome. The first drawback is the amplification of a strains capacity to use the biological machinery, to produce the targeted enzyme as the major protein of the metabolism. For ease of recovery, the secretion of the enzyme is researched. Consequently, organisms having specific post-translational systems of protein secretion are preferred. These systems are particularly well developed in fungi and as such, are preferred for industrial scale production. Moreover, fungi are able to grow at low pH and easily cultivated in liquid medium and/or by solid state fermentation. The recovery, the purification and the formulation of the protein preparation to maintain the enzyme activity, for as long as possible, are also described in this chapter.