Conversion of spent CHO cell culture media waste to new fermentation feed efficiently supports production of recombinant protein by Escherichia coli
Deriving new value from waste streams is a central aim of the circular bioeconomy. In this study we investigate whether chemically defined spent media (CDSM) waste from cell culture bioprocess can be effectively recycled and used as a feed in microbial fermentation to produce new recombinant protein products. Our results show that 1) CDSM supplemented with 2% glycerol supported a specific growth rate of E. coli cultures equivalent to that achieved using a nutritionally rich media (LB) used as a baseline reference. 2) The amount of recombinant protein produced following induction in an expression screen was approximately two-fold higher in the CDSM fed cultures than that of baseline. 3) Mass spectrometry analysis of the proteome of E. coli cultures fed in CDSM revealed a greater or lesser differential protein expression pattern depending on supplementation conditions. Further, in a 16 hr fermentation the optimised CDSM-fed culture delivered a protein yield of more than double that achieved by the baseline media. We conclude that spent cell culture media, which represents millions of litres of waste generated by the bioprocessing industry annually, has the potential to be a valuable feed resource for the production of recombinant proteins in secondary microbial fermentation.