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US 2010/0304432 A1Published application
Genetically modified biological cells
AssigneeTheresa O'Keefe
InventorsTheresa O'Keefe, Timothy L. Curtiss
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AssigneeTheresa O'Keefe
InventorsTheresa O'Keefe, Timothy L. Curtiss
Estimating the term…
The present invention is based, in part, on our discovery of a way to configure expression cassettes so that the expression of a selectable marker protein, which is critical for the growth or survival of a cell, also results in the expression of a protein of interest in a biological cell. Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention features a genetically modified cell (e.g., a bacterial cell) that includes a chromosomally integrated or cytoplasmic expression cassette that includes a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a protein of interest and a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a selectable marker protein. The regulatory sequence (e.g., the sequence encoding a functional promoter) that drives expression of the required selectable marker protein also drives expression of the protein of interest. For that reason, we may refer to their expression as being “linked” or “functionally couple.”
A genetically modified bacterial cell comprising a chromosomally integrated expression cassette comprising a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a protein of interest and a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a positive selectable marker protein, wherein expression of the protein of interest and expression of the selectable marker are functionally coupled and the selectable marker is an enzyme within a biosynthetic pathway that produces an essential nutrient selected from the group consisting of a vitamin and an essential amino acid.
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An expression cassette comprising a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a protein of interest and a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a positive selectable marker, wherein expression of the protein of interest and expression of the selectable marker are functionally coupled and the selectable marker is an enzyme within a biosynthetic pathway that produces an essential nutrient selected from the group consisting of a vitamin and an essential amino acid.
A fusion protein comprising a protein of interest and an enzyme within a biosynthetic pathway that produces an essential nutrient selected from the group consisting of a vitamin or an essential amino acid, and
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.