Abstract
The methods described in this article are relative to the use of a positive cloning/screening recombinant system for the generation in Escherichia coli of foreign proteins fused to a highly active bacterial alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) variant as reporter enzyme. Appropriate insertion of the DNA encoding the foreign peptides, proteic domains, or proteins between codons +6 and +7 of the phoa gene restores the initial frame of the phoa gene in the vector. Consequently, only recombinant clones appear as blue colonies when plating onto an agar medium containing a chromogenic substrate for PhoA. The presence of an intact PhoA signal peptide yields to a systematic secretion of the fusion proteins into the periplasm where the PhoA dimerises to its active form, and disulfides can be formed if necessary. The resultant PhoA-tagged proteins are particularly convenient novel tools that can be used in a wide range of applications, including expression, epitope mapping, histochemistry, immunoblotting, mutant analysis, and competition or sandwich ELISAs (see Note 1). Expression of an scFv antibody fragment derived from an IgG2a/κ immunoglobulin specific for curaremimetic toxins from snake (named M-α2-3), will be used to illustrate the methods utilized for its cloning, expression in E.coli, extraction, and functional characterization.
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Boulain, JC., Ducancel, F. (2004). Expression of Recombinant Alkaline Phosphatase Conjugates in Escherichia coli . In: Balbás, P., Lorence, A. (eds) Recombinant Gene Expression. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 267. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-774-2:101
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-774-2:101
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