Bacterial inclusion bodies are industrially exploitable amyloids

authored by

Ario De Marco, Neus Ferrer-Miralles, Elena Garcia-Fruitós, Anna Mitraki, Spela Peternel, Ursula Rinas, Mauricio A. Trujillo-Roldán, Norma A. Valdez-Cruz, Esther Vázquez, Antonio Villaverde

Abstract

Understanding the structure, functionalities and biology of functional amyloids is an issue of emerging interest. Inclusion bodies, namely protein clusters formed in recombinant bacteria during protein production processes, have emerged as unanticipated, highly tunable models for the scrutiny of the physiology and architecture of functional amyloids. Based on an amyloidal skeleton combined with varying amounts of native or native-like protein forms, bacterial inclusion bodies exhibit an unusual arrangement that confers mechanical stability, biological activity and conditional protein release, being thus exploitable as versatile biomaterials. The applicability of inclusion bodies in biotechnology as enriched sources of protein and reusable catalysts, and in biomedicine as biocompatible topographies, nanopills or mimetics of endocrine secretory granules has been largely validated. Beyond these uses, the dissection of how recombinant bacteria manage the aggregation of functional protein species into structures of highly variable complexity offers insights about unsuspected connections between protein quality (conformational status compatible with functionality) and cell physiology.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Technical Chemistry

External Organisation(s)

University of Nova Gorica
Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)
Centros de Investigacion Biomedica en Red - CIBER
IRTA - Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology
University of Crete
Lupinica
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI)
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

Type

Review article

Journal

FEMS Microbiology Reviews

Volume

43

Pages

53-72

No. of pages

20

ISSN

0168-6445

Publication date

01.2019

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Microbiology, Infectious Diseases

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1093/femsre/fuy038 (Access: Open)