Recombinant protein expression of Moringa oleifera lectin in methylotrophic yeast as active coagulant for sustainable high turbid water treatment

• Main Authors: Abd. Wahid, M. A., Megat Mohd. Noor, M. J., Goto, M., Sugiura, N., Othman, N., Zakaria, Z., Ahmad Mohammed, T., Jusoh, A., Hara, H.
• Format: Article
• Published: Japan Society for Bioscience Biotechnology and Agrochemistry 2017
• Subjects: T Technology (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/75446/; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85024863152&doi=10.1080%2f09168451.2017.1329617&partnerID=40&md5=bd7b8f643e421095dcff4b65e0ac4215

The natural coagulant Moringa oleifera lectin (MoL) as cationic protein is a promising candidate in coagulation process of water treatment plant. Introducing the gene encoding MoL into a host, Pichia pastoris, to secrete soluble recombinant protein is assessed in this study. Initial screening using PCR confirmed the insertion of MoL gene, and SDS-PAGE analysis detected the MoL protein at 8 kDa. Cultured optimization showed the highest MoL protein at 520 mg/L was observed at 28 °C for 144 h of culturing by induction in 1% methanol. Approximately, 0.40 mg/mL of recombinant MoL protein showed 95 ± 2% turbidity removal of 1% kaolin suspension. In 0.1% kaolin suspension, the concentration of MoL at 10 μg/mL exhibits the highest turbidity reduction at 68 ± 1%. Thus, recombinant MoL protein from P. pastoris is an effective coagulant for water treatment.