Effects of methanol feeding methods on chimeric α-amylase expression in continuous culture of Pichia pastoris

The effects of two types of methanol feeding methods in a continuous culture of Pichia system on the cell growth and recombinant protein expression were studied using chimeric α-amylase as a model protein. With the feeding of methanol by a DO-stat method, the α-amylase concentration in the fermentation broth increased with decreasing dilution rate and reached 173 mg/l at a dilution rate of 0.013 h−1, at which the maximum volumetric productivity of α-amylase was obtained. Although almost the same productivity was attained at 0.04 h−1 with continuous methanol feeding, the α-amylase concentration was one third that compared with feeding by the DO-stat method, that is, 55 mg/l. Furthermore, at this dilution rate, the medium volume needed per unit time was three times that required when DO-stat was used. Therefore, continuous culture with methanol feeding by the DO-stat method may be a promising method for the production of recombinant proteins on an industrial scale by Pichia pastoris.