Urine may play a key role in future biotechnology systems

A common chemical found in urine can be used to kick-start the large-scale production of proteins, such as hormones and antibodies
used by biotech companies.
Researchers at the University of Birmingham and Aston University in the United Kingdom have developed a system that uses urea to trigger the mass production
of these proteins needed by the biotechnology industry.

Often, in this process, small pieces of DNA are introduced into bacteria such as E.
coli to convince them to overproduce certain proteins
.
This is a widely understood technology that was first developed in the 70s of the 20th century
.
However, overproduction is often triggered by "inducer" molecules, which can be expensive and often require careful handling, such as refrigeration
.
By using urea, the researchers developed a cheaper, more direct way to
use easily available materials.

In a new study published in New Biotechnology, the team investigated urea
contained in purified urea and common horticultural fertilizers.
They show that similar results
can be obtained using either source.

Co-author Professor Steve Busby, from the University of Birmingham's School of Biological Sciences, said: "Our goal is to make this technology available to biotech companies
that want to explore how to optimise processes and reduce costs.
"

The team also showed that by changing the concentration of urea molecules, the number of
proteins triggered by urea molecules can be fine-tuned.
This is important
to avoid harming or depleting the host bacteria.
They found that it was possible to optimize yields to a similar amount
to those produced by medium-intensity promoters currently used by biotechnology industry standards.

This research builds on earlier work, where the team successfully demonstrated that nitrate, an inexpensive, stable and abundant inorganic ion, could also be used as a trigger
.
Nitrate is commonly found in many commercial fertilizers, and even in some garden fertilizers, meaning it is always readily available, even in areas where
other types of starter chemicals may not be available.

Study co-author Dr Joanne Hothersall, also from the School of Biological Sciences, added: "Urea and nitrates will be more accessible and easier to use
in areas with limited infrastructure, such as those where maintaining cold supply chains is challenging.
" It is hoped that these new methods will open up new avenues
of research for the biotechnology industry.

New vectors for urea-inducible recombinant protein production