• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2004

An alcohol oxidase from Hansenula polymorpha was strongly induced when cells were grown with 0.5% methanol supplementation as the carbon source. The induced Hansenula polymorpha alcohol oxidase was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by using DEAE-Sephacel and Mono Q column chromatographys. The enzyme oxidized mainly primary aliphatic alcohols and exhibited high substrate specificity towards ethanol and methanol. The activity of the enzyme optimally proceeded at pH 8.5 and $50^{\circ}C$. The midpoint of the temperature-stability curve for the enzyme was approximately $52^{\circ}C$ and the enzyme was not completely inactivated even at $65^{\circ}C$ temperature. The enzyme showed resistance toward detergents and highly stable over 7 weeks of storage condition. This Hansenula polymorpha alcohol oxidase may be useful for the enzymatic determination of alcohol and for the industrial production of alcohols and aldehydes.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.482-489
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• 1999

As host for the production of eucaryotic heterologous proteins, methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris and Hansenula polymorpha are the most highly developed of a small group of alternative yeast species chosen for their perceived advantages. This paper describes the method to enhance the recombinant protein productivity with P. pastoris and H. Plymorpha. In these experiments, the effects of methanol induction timing, induction method, pH, culture temperature and kinds of nitrogen sources on foreign protein production were tested with P. pastoris and compared with H. polymorpha.. In addition, optimum methanol concentration as inducer and the effects of carbon sources on AOX1 or MOX promoter repression and secretion efficiency were also studied in both cases.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.248-252
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• 2001

Recombinant Human serum albumin (rHSA) was purified to near homogeneity from H, polymorpha using heat treatment, ultrafiltratipn and Phenyl Sepharose CL-4B and Mono Q column chro - matographies with a recovery yield of 60% The molecular weight of the purified rHSA was estimated to be about 65,000 Da by denaturing SDS-PAGE The N terminal amino acid sequence of the purified HSA determined by Edman degradation was turned out to be Asp- Ala- His- Lys- Ser- Glu- Ala, suggesting that the rHSA expressed in H, polymorpha was efficiently secreted and correctly processed at the cleavage site of secretion signal sequence. The purified human albumin showed the pI value identical to that of authentic human serum albumin.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1949-1954
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• 2007

A simple way to prevent protein hyperglycosylation in Hansenula polymorpha was found. When glucose oxidase from Aspergillus niger and carboxymethyl cellulase from Bacillus subtilis were expressed under the control of an inducible methanol oxidase (MOX) promoter using methanol as a carbon source, hyperglycosylated forms occurred. In contrast, MOX-repressing carbon sources (e.g., glucose, sorbitol, and glycerol) greatly reduced the extent of hyperglycosylation. Carbon source starvation of the cells also reduced the level of glycosylation, which was reversed to hyperglycosylation by the resumption of cell growth. It was concluded that the proteins expressed under actively growing conditions are produced as hyperglycosylated forms, whereas those under slow or nongrowing conditions are as short-glycosylated forms. The prevention of hyperglycosylation in the Hansenula polymorpha expression system constitutes an additional advantage over the traditional Saccharomyces cerevisiae system in recombinant production of glycosylated proteins.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.477-484
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• 1994

Using a methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha, a heterologous gene expression and secretion system was developed for the production of hEGF(human Epidermal Growth Factor) which has been shown to promote epithelial cell proliferation and to inhibit gastric acid secretion. The hEGF gene was chemically synthesized according to the preferred codon usage in H. polymor- pha and expressed under the control of the strong and inducible methanol oxidase(MOX) promoter. The mating factor $\alpha$ pre-pro leader sequence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was employed for hEGF to be secreted into the extracellular medium. This expression cassette was stably integrated into the host chromosomal DNA. Mature hEGF was efficiently expressed and secreted into the extracel- lular medium. About 24 mg/l of hEGF was detected in the cuture supernatant of a transformant with pA-EGF3 under the suboptimal culture conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.65-72
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• 1993

A heterologous gene expression and secretion system using a methylotrophic yeast, Hansenula polymorpha was developed for the production of anticoagulant hirudin. Hirudin gene was expressed under the control of a strong and inducible methanol oxidase (MOX or AOX) promoter. The mating factor a pre-pro leader sequence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was employed for hirudin to be secreted into the extracellular medium. Hirudin expression cassette was introduced into three strains of H. polymorpha, A16, HPBl and DLl which have different genetic backgrounds. This expression cassette was stably integrated into the host chromosomal DNA. Biologically active and mature hirudin was efficiently expressed and secreted into the extracellular medium. About 19 mg/L of hirudin was found in the culture supernatant in the case of a two-copy integrant of the strain HPBl under suboptimal culture conditions.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.247-252
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• 2000

The strength and regulatory characteristics of the heat-inducible HSA1, HSA2 and TPS1 promoters were compared with those of the well-established, carbon source-regulated FMD promoter in a Hansenula polymorpha-based host system in vivo. In addition, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae-derived ADH1 promoter was analysed. While ADH1 promoter showed to be of poor activity in the foreign host, the strength of the heat shock TPS1 promoter was found to exceed that of the FMD promoter, which at present is considered to be the strongest promoter for driving heterologous gene expression in H. polymorpha.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2000

For the rapid selection of higher recombinant hirudin producing strain in a methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha, a multiple gene integration and dose-dependent selection vector, based on a telomere-associated ARS and a bacterial aminoglycoside 3-phosphotransferase (aph) gene, was adopted. Two hirudin expression cassettes (HV1 and HV2) were constructed using the MOX promoter of H. polymorpha and the mating factor $\alpha$ secretion signal of S. cerevisiae. Multiple integrants of a transforming vector containing hirudin expression cassettes were easily selected by using an antibiotic, G418. Hirudin expression level and integrated plasmid copy number of the tested transformants increased with increasing the concentration of G418 used for selection. The expression level of HV1 was consistently higher than that of HV2 under the similar conditions, suggesting that the gene context might be quite important for the high-level gene expression in H. polymorpha. The highest hirudin producing strain selected in this study produced over 96 mg/L of biologically active hirudin in a 500-mL flask and 165 mg/L in a 5-L fermentor.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2001

The development of expression systems for heterologous proteins has been greatly demanded not only for the study of the structure/function relationships of these proteins but also for their biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. During the past decades, the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha and Pichia pastoris have drawn attention as one of promising hosts for the production of a variety of heterologous proteins. The increasing popularity of H. polymorpha and P. pastoris as the host systems can be attributed to the several advantages over the traditional yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, such as the availability of very strong and tightly regulated promoters from the enzymes involved in the metabolism of methanol, a very high-cell density even on simple mineral media, and a high stability of expression plasmids. Furthermore, it has been observed that glycoproteins from these two yeasts are less hyperglycoylated compared to those from S. cerevisiae. Despite substantial similarities as methylotrophic yeasts, however, these two expression systems have some unique features distinguished from each other. In this paper we present a brief overview on the present status of the expression systems developed in methylotrophic yeast, mainly focusing on the similarities and differences between the H. polymorpha and P. pastoris systems.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.304-312
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• 2013

The thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha is attracting interest as a potential strain for the production of recombinant proteins and biofuels. However, only limited numbers of genome engineering tools are currently available for H. polymorpha. In the present study, we identified the HpPOL3 gene encoding the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase ${\delta}$ of H. polymorpha and mutated the sequence encoding conserved amino acid residues that are important for its proofreading 3'${\rightarrow}$5' exonuclease activity. The resulting $HpPOL3^*$ gene encoding the error-prone proofreading-deficient DNA polymerase ${\delta}$ was cloned under a methanol oxidase promoter to construct the mutator plasmid pHIF8, which also contains additional elements for site-specific chromosomal integration, selection, and excision. In a H. polymorpha mutator strain chromosomally integrated with pHIF8, a $URA3^-$ mutant resistant to 5-fluoroorotic acid was generated at a 50-fold higher frequency than in the wild-type strain, due to the dominant negative expression of $HpPOL3^*$. Moreover, after obtaining the desired mutant, the mutator allele was readily removed from the chromosome by homologous recombination to avoid the uncontrolled accumulation of additional mutations. Our mutator system, which depends on the accumulation of random mutations that are incorporated during DNA replication, will be useful to generate strains with mutant phenotypes, especially those related to unknown or multiple genes on the chromosome.