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University of the Pacific

Development of a high throughput reporter system using β-Galactosidase in the yeast : Pichia Pastoris

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>Pichia pastoris is a methylotrophic yeast gaining acclamation for its capabili ties in heterologous protein expression. In contrast to other host organisms such as bacteria or mammalian cells, P. pastoris offers many advantages over its counterparts. For example, P. pastoris is cost-effective in that it can grow to high cell densities on simple media. The optional use of a constitutive (GAP) or inducible (A OXI) promoter and the ab ility to perfo1m post-translational protein modifications are additional qualities that make for a powerful heterologous expression system. This study focuses on harnessing the benefits described to develop a high-throughput reporter system for the screening of potential super-secreting mutant strains of P. pastoris. Plasmid constructs were engineered with the lacZ reporter gene, which encodes for the β-galactosidase protein, and fused to the S. cerevisiae MATa signal sequence. Expression plasmids were successfully transformed in P. pastoris strain yGS 115 followed by induction. Western blot analyses confirm the expression of β-galactosidase and colorimetric activity assays further validate enzymatic function. A mutant library containing cis- and/or trans-acting mutations was created by treating P. pas loris clones harboring the β-galactosidase expression plasmid with ultraviolet (UV) radiation. A colorimetric plate assay was combined with a replica-plating system that enabled the screening of thousands of potential super-secreting mutant colonies in a high-throughput format. This study sheds light onto our current understanding of secretion in yeast and further contributes to developing P. pastoris into a valuable heterologous protein expression system.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science (M.S.)
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Biological Sciences
Year dc:date.available
2005

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Nguyen, Jack
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Joan Lin-Cereghino

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/623
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarlycommons.pacific.edu:uop_etds-1622

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of the Pacific
Base URL
scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Nguyen, Jack. Development of a high throughput reporter system using β-Galactosidase in the yeast : Pichia Pastoris. Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted thesis, 2005. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/623