A. Description
The pET System is the most powerful system yet developed for the cloning and expression of
recombinant proteins in E. coli. Target genes are cloned in pET plasmids under control of strong
bacteriophage T7 transcription and (optionally) translation signals; expression is induced by
providing a source of T7 RNA polymerase in the host cell. T7 RNA polymerase is so selective and
active that, when fully induced, almost all of the cell’s resources are converted to target gene
expression; the desired product can comprise more than 50% of the total cell protein a few hours
after induction. Although this system is extremely powerful, it is also possible to attenuate
expression levels simply by lowering the concentration of inducer. Decreasing the expression
level may enhance the soluble yield of some target proteins. Another important benefit of this
system is its ability to maintain target genes transcriptionally silent in the uninduced state.
Target genes are initially cloned using hosts that do not contain the T7 RNA polymerase gene,
thus eliminating plasmid instability due to the production of proteins potentially toxic to the host
cell (see Section I. F. for details). Once established in a non-expression host, target protein
expression may be initiated either by infecting the host with λCE6, a phage that carries the T7
RNA polymerase gene under the control of the λ pL and pI
promoters, or by transferring the
plasmid into an expression host containing a chromosomal copy of the T7 RNA polymerase gene
under lacUV5 control. In the second case, expression is induced by the addition of IPTG to the
bacterial culture. Although in some cases (e.g., with innocuous target proteins) it may be
possible to clone directly into expression hosts, this approach is not recommended as a general
strategy. Two types of T7 promoter and several hosts that differ in their stringency of
suppressing basal expression levels are available, providing great flexibility and the ability to
optimize the expression of a wide variety of target genes.