• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.1052-1056
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• 2004

A secretion signal sequence-selection vector (pGS40) was constructed based on an $\alpha$-amylase gene lacking a secretion signal and employed for selecting secretion signals from Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris LM0230 chromosomal DNA. Six fragments were identified based on their ability to restore $\alpha$-amylase secretion in E. coli, and among these, a fragment, S405, conferred the highest secretion activity (84%) in E. coli. Meanwhile, S407, which conferred poor secretion activity in E. coli, was quite active in L. lactis. The results suggested that the efficiency of a secretion signal depended on the host. All six fragments had an open reading frame (ORF) fused to the reporter gene, and the potential Shine-Dalgamo (SD) sequence and putative promoter sequences were located upstream of the ORF. Deduced amino acid sequences from the six fragments did not show any homology with known secretion signals. However, they contained three distinguished structural features and cleavage sites, commonly found among typical secretion signals. The characterized secretion signals could be useful for the construction of food-grade secretion vectors and gene expression in LAB.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.241-247
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• 2005

A new lactococcal shuttle/expression vector for lactococci, pWgal13T, was constructed using a $\beta$-galactosi-dase gene (lacZ) from Lacfococcus lactis ssp. lactis ATCC 7962 as a screening marker. The pWgal 13T was introduced into Escherichia coli DH5a and L. lactis MG1363, and was easily detected by the formation of blue colonies on a medium containing X-gal without any false transformants. Also, the quantitatively lacZ activity of pWgal13T was measured in L. lactis ssp. cremoris MG1363, and was found to be four times higher than that of L. lactis ssp. lactis ATCC7962 grown on a medium containing glucose, which shows that the lacZ gene of pWgal13T can be used for the efficient screening of L. lactis on general media. The pWgal13T was equipped with a lactococcal replicon of pWV01 from L. lactis Wg2, the new promoter P13C from L. lactis ssp. cremoris LM0230, multiple cloning sites, and a terminator for the expression of a relevant gene. The vee-tor pWgal13T was used for the expression of the EGFP gene in E. coli and L. lactis. These results show that the lactococcal expression/shuttle vector constructed in the present study can be used for the production of foreign proteins in E. coli and L. lactis.