cloning and expression of beta subunit gene of phycocyanin from spirulina platensis in escherichia coli

Background: c-phycocyanin (c-pc) from blue-green algae such as spirulina has been reported to have various pharmacological characteristics, including anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities. recombinant β-subunit of c-pc (c-pc/β) is an inhibitor of cell proliferation and an inducer of cancer cell apoptosis. objectives: since c-pc/β has a big potential to be used as a promising cancer prevention or therapy agent, the purpose of this study was to clone and express spirulina platensis cpcb gene in a bacterial expression system. this is a significant step for the production of this compound. materials and methods: the cpcb gene was amplified using specific primers and cloned in a bacterial expression vector, namely pet43.1a+. gene expression of cpcb was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (sds-page) and the dot blotting technique. results: the sds-page analysis and dot blotting confirmed the production of recombinant c-pc/β in the bacterial expression system. over-expression of cpcb gene was optimized in induction by 1 mm isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactoside (iptg), after four hours of inoculation at 30°c. conclusions: over-expression of the synthetic cpc/β protein in the bacterial system (escherichia coli bl-21) showed that e. coli can be used as a basis for further research to produce this desired protein in large quantities.