iBB

Researchers from BERG-iBB and the Prather lab at MIT developed a pgi gene knockout E. coli strain with the specific goal of producing large amounts of plasmid DNA vectors. The new strain was tested by Nature Technology Corporation in the US, yielding 2100-2200 mg plasmid DNA per L in 14 L bioreactors. The strain may be usefull in the large scale production of plasmid-based gene transfer vectors with application in  gene therapy, DNA vaccination and recombinant protein production by transient transfection. The research was developed under the framework of the MIT-Portugal program and is a direct result of Geisa Gonçalves (in the photo) Ph D. thesis in Bioengineering. Click on title to learn more.