Journal of Bioprocessing & Biotechniques

CHO cells have an impressive monopoly over other expression systems in the production of complex therapeutic proteins at large scale. There is thus a need to design superior cell lines with improved product quality and enhanced expression levels which requires an understanding of the cellular components and their interactions from a ‘systems’ point of view. With the emergence of critical ‘omics’ data sets for CHO cells which include transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, fluxomics, and glycomics; some clarity has emerged in elucidating the global regulatory mechanisms that control protein over expression. Integrating this vast amount of information with bioprocess data can help point out significant targets for cellular modification that are required for hyper production. In mammalian systems, the information flow from genes to phenotype is mediated by complex regulatory networks and mathematical modeling which incorporates this framework would also assist in the identification of crucial targets for modification. This review updates recent advancements in OMICS technologies and the synergistic use of these platforms for designing improved cell lines.

In order to meet the Renewable Fuels Standard demands for 30 billion gallons of biofuels by the end of 2020, new technologies for generation of cellulosic ethanol must be exploited. Breaking down cellulose by cellulase enzyme is very important for this purpose but this is not thermostable and degrades at higher temperatures in bioreactors. Towards creation of a more ecologically friendly method of rendering bioethanol from cellulosic waste, we attempted to produce recombinant higher temperature resistant cellulases for use in bioreactors. The project involved molecular cloning of genes for cellulose-degrading enzymes based on bacterial source, expressing the recombinant proteins in E. coli and optimizing enzymatic activity. We were able to generate in vitro bacterial expression systems to produce recombinant His-tag purified protein which showed cellulase like activity.