Protein Expression and Purification, Vol.133, 90-95, 2017
Cloning, expression, purification, and characterisation of the HEAT-repeat domain of TOR from the thermophilic eukaryote Chaetomium thermophilum
The Target of Rapamycin Complex is a central controller of cell growth and differentiation in eukaryotes. Its global architecture has been described by cryoelectron microscopy, and regions of its central TOR protein have been described by X-ray crystallography. However, the N-terminal region of this protein, which consists of a series of HEAT repeats, remains uncharacterised at high resolution, most likely due to the absence of a suitable purification procedure. Here, we present a robust method for the preparation of the HEAT-repeat domain, utilizing the thermophilic fungus Chaetomium thermophilum as a source organism. We describe construct design and stable expression in insect cells. An efficient two-step purification procedure is presented, and the purified product is characterised by SEC and MALDI-TOF MS. The methods described pave the way for a complete high-resolution characterisation of this elusive region of the TOR protein. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords:TOR;Chaetomium thermophilum;Mass spectrometry;Target of rapamycin signalling;Purification;MultiBac expression system