parahaemolyticus strains containing

tdh1 and tdh2 genes is mainly caused by TDH2. The dominant expression of tdh2 is due to differences in the promoter regions between the two gene variants ( Okuda and Nishibuchi, 1998). To study cell-free expression of TDH2 separately, we therefore cloned the tdh2 gene in an E. coli vector and used the resulting recombinant plasmid pJET2-tdh2 as a template for the first step E-PCR1 amplification of the coding sequence of preTDH and mTDH. As expected the cell-free synthesis yielded only one protein band for the mature toxin Entinostat cost (and the preprotein). This was demonstrated by incorporation of 14C labeled leucine ( Fig. 8). The toxin synthesis rate in these experiments was within the same range as the synthesis rate with the chromosomal template. TCA precipitation yielded toxin synthesis rates for the CRM containing mature TDH2-His of approx. 300 μg/ml and in the supernatant a concentration of approx. 150 μg/ml could

be detected. Functionality was demonstrated by hemolysis on rabbit erythrocytes in hemolysis assays (see Supplementary Fig. S4). In this study, we describe the successful cell-free expression of functional thermostable direct hemolysin which is a major virulence factor of V. parahaemolyticus. Since the mid of the 1990s the pandemic O3:K6 clone of this pathogen has caused seafoodborne gastrointestinal see more diseases in Asia and America, but is also now spreading to European coasts and was detected in mussels in UK, Italy, France and Spain. For identification of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus strains assays for toxin detection are of interest for food laboratories. The detection of the toxin requires easy systems to produce the toxin for application as reference materials or for use as antigen for the generation of antibodies. For functional studies or crystallographic investigations of the mature TDH variants it would be preferable to express the protein individually instead of

a combined aminophylline expression. In this study we showed that TDH can be synthesized in significant amounts in the prokaryotic E. coli system. The synthesis rate is nearly 100fold above the production achieved under optimized conditions with V. parahaemolyticus ( Nishibuchi et al., 1991). The synthesis can be easily performed by using chromosomal DNA or by using plasmids as a template for the two step E-PCR ( Merk et al., 2003). Additionally, no cloning steps are necessary for the expression of toxins and therefore the whole expression procedure is devoid of the generation of genetically modified organisms. In our study, the parallel synthesis of two closely related toxin variants (TDH1 and TDH2) was achieved from one genomic DNA template, which is advantageous for the fast and efficient generation of antibodies. In conclusion, cell-free expression offers a time saving and cost effective technology for the production of biologically active toxins. We thank Prof. Dr. R. T.