Production of interleukin-6 in Arxula adeninivorans, Hansenula polymorpha and Saccharomyces cerevisiae by applying the wide-range yeast vector (CoMed™) system to simultaneous comparative assessment

A wide-range yeast vector (CoMed((TM))) system has been applied to the comparative assessment of three different yeast platforms for the production of human interleukin-6. A vector equipped with an rRNA gene targeting sequence and an Arxula adeninivorans-derived LEU2 gene was used for simultaneous transformation of auxotrophic A. adeninivorans, Hansenula polymorpha and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. IL6 was expressed under control of the strong constitutive A. adeninivorans-derived TEF1 promoter, which is functional in all yeast species analyzed so far. Secreted IL-6 was found to be correctly processed from an MF alpha 1-IL6 precursor in A. adeninivorans only, whereas N-terminally truncated proteins were observed in H. polymorpha and S. cerevisiae.