RECENT ADVANCES IN THE EXPRESSION OF SWEET-TASTING PROTEINS IN MICROBIAL SYSTEMS
Keywords:
sweet tasting proteins; heterologous expression; microbial production; monellin; thaumatin; yeast expression systems; gene engineering; fermentation; metabolic engineering; non nutritive sweeteners; food biotechnology; recombinant protein production.Abstract
In response to growing health concerns about excessive sugar consumption, the field of food biotechnology has turned increasing attention to sweettasting proteins as promising non‐nutritive sugar substitutes. These proteins—such as brazzein, monellin, thaumatin and others—exhibit potent sweetness, low caloric content, and are of natural origin. However, their commercial application is hindered by difficulties in sourcing sufficient quantities from native plant sources and by challenges in costeffective production. This review examines recent advances in heterologous expression of sweettasting proteins in microbial systems (bacteria, yeast and fungal hosts). Key themes include: optimisation of gene design (e.g., codon usage, signal peptides), host engineering (secretion pathways, protein folding/chaperones, reduction of proteolysis), and fermentation process improvements (promoter selection, gene copy number, feedbatch strategies). Overall, the paper underscores that microbial expression of sweettasting proteins is advancing rapidly and holds genuine promise, though further work is needed to translate labscale successes into commercially viable processes.
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