Heterologous expression, fermentation strategies and molecular modification of collagen for versatile applications

Abstract

Collagen is a kind of high macromolecular protein with unique tissue distribution and distinctive functions in the body. At present, most collagen products are extracted from the tissues and organs of mammals or marine fish. However, this method exhibits several disadvantages, including low efficiency and serious waste generation, which makes it difficult to meet the current market demand. With the rapid development of synthetic biology and the deepening of high-density fermentation technology, the collagen preparation by biosynthesis strategy emerges as the times require. Co-expression with the proline hydroxylase gene can solve the problem of non-hydroxylated collagen, but the yield may be affected. Therefore, improving the expression through molecular modification and dynamic regulation of synthesis is an entry point for future research. Due to the defects in certain properties of the natural collagen, modification of properties would be benefit for meeting the requirements of practical application. In this paper, in-depth investigations on recombinant expression, fermentation, and modification studies of collagen are conducted. Also, it summarizes the research progress of collagen in food, medicine, and beauty industry in recent years. Furthermore, the future development trend and application prospect of collagen are discussed, which would provide guidance for its preparation and application.

Keywords:

• Collagen
• collagen modification
• efficient expression
• fermentation
• gene co-expression

Authors’ contribution

Zhi-Xiang Xiang: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Visualization. Jin-Song Gong: Investigation, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Supervision. Heng Li: Investigation. Wei-Ting Shi: Writing – review & editing. Min Jiang: Writing – review & editing. Zheng-Hong Xu: Writing – review & editing. Jin-Song Shi: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (No. 2021YFC2100400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21978116, 32171261), the National First-class discipline Program of Light Industry Technology and Engineering (No. LITE2018-18), the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Key Research & Development Plan (No. 2019BCH01002), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. JUSRP22047).