Instant enzymes: Systems engineering approach to rapid low cost production of thermostable molecular biology enzymes.

Purified thermostable proteins are essential research reagents, yet their production often involves laborious, stepwise optimization and costly chromatographic methods. These barriers have historically limited in-house protein production to well-equipped labs with significant expertise. A systems engineering approach is presented for streamlined, low-cost production and chromatography-free purification of widely used DNA-modifying enzymes, including Taq DNA Polymerase, Fusion High-Fidelity Polymerase, Thermostable DNA Ligase, and Reverse Transcriptase. This platform integrates autoinducible expression, cell-programmed autolysis and DNA/RNA autohydrolysis, and precipitation-based purification optimized through Design of Experiments. The resulting enzymes are > 95 % pure by SDS-PAGE, active in standard workflows, and produced within one hour of hands-on time using basic lab equipment. A single 20  mL culture yields enzyme for hundreds to thousands of reactions. Purification of Taq was also demonstrated entirely within bioreactors, highlighting scalability. This method offers a generalizable framework for low-cost protein production and illustrates the power of systems engineering in reshaping biomanufacturing.

Duke Scholars

Author Michael D Lynch Biomedical Engineering