Protein Overexpression in Different E. coli Strains for Industrial Scale Drug Development in Sri Lanka

Research and industrial scale protein overexpression for pharmaceutical products uses Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains due to their well-characterised genome and easy manipulation. This review addresses the current scope of E. coli strains for protein overexpression, at global scale and in Sri Lanka, and the feasibility of development of pharmaceutical protein manufacturing in Sri Lanka, through a literature survey. E. coli BL21 lineage and its derivatives are the most common host strain, while K-12 lineage is the second most common host strain for protein overexpression. In Sri Lanka, however, only few published data were available, mainly focused on pathogenicity of E. coli with small published research for protein overexpression in E. coli BL21(DE3). Although, this evidenced the availability of required technology and assets in Sri Lanka for necessary protocols, protein products such as pharmaceutical drugs are being imported at high cost than developing research to optimise protein overexpression in the country. Through this review, we suggest the optimum utilisation of available laboratory infrastructure, personnel asserts and protocols by developing research not only with BL21(DE3), but other strains for specific protein expressions, where the research can be developed for industrialising to meet the demands of the pharmaceutical industry and many other biomedical researches in Sri Lanka.