CloningChoice of Expression Systems
Comparison of Expression Systems
| Characteristics | E. coli | Yeast | Insect cells | Mammalian cells |
| Cell growth | rapid (30 min) | rapid (90 min) | slow (18-24 h) | slow (24 h) |
| Complexity of growth medium | minimum | minimum | complex | complex |
| Cost of growth medium | low | low | high | high |
| Expression level | high | low - high | low - high | low - moderate |
| Extracellular expression | secretion to periplasm | secretion to medium | secretion to medium | secretion to medium |
| Posttranslational modifications | ||||
| Protein folding | refolding usually required | refolding may be required | proper folding | proper folding |
| N-linked glycosylation | none | high mannose | simple, no sialic acid | complex |
| O-linked glycosylation | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Phosphorylation | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Acetylation | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Acylation | no | yes | yes | yes |
| gamma-Carboxylation | no | no | no | yes |
From:
Gene Expression Systems. Using nature for the art of expression (Fernandez, J.M. & Hoeffler, J.P., eds), Academic Press, San Diego, 1999.