Abstract
Plasmid DNA (pDNA) is a vital product for the pharmaceutical industry,
which can be injected directly in the form of DNA vaccines, and its
significance and demand are increasing. The DNA vaccines require high
production of the pDNA in form of supercoiled plasmid DNA (sc-pDNA) for
their actual development. Several factors, including the host strain,
the type of plasmid, and production process, influence the production
and productivity of pDNA. In this study, the rnaII gene,
necessary for ColE I plasmid replication initiation, along with the
nrdAB genes involved in the dNTP’s synthesis pathway, were
integrated into the Escherichia coli ( E. coli) genome.
This integration effectively improved plasmid production by enhancing
the replication initiation and increasing the supply of replication
substrates. Additionally, a rich fed fermentation medium was used, and
the fermentation process was optimized. After an initial period of
fermentation, a gradient-fed strategy was implemented to control
specific growth rates. As a result, the fermentation broth reached an OD
600 of 113.7, with a plasmid production of 2.77 g/L and
a supercoiled proportion of 97.3%.