Improving the purification of membrane proteins from Escherichia coli C41(DE3)

The overexpression and purification of membrane proteins to high purity and homogeneity is a challenging task. Over time, several strains have been developed that decrease the toxic side-effects and thus result in higher bio mass and protein yield. However, two major contaminants have been identified in membrane protein preparations from E. coli: the outer membrane porin OmpF and AcrB, which is part of a tripartite efflux pump. Both proteins crystallise from low concentrations and diverse conditions, which make them a major problem, especially in membrane protein crystallography. In this study, we present a C41(DE3)-derived expression strains that is depleted of these two proteins.