Expression and purification of polyhistidine-tagged firefly luciferase in insect cells

The coleopteran firefly, Photinus pyralis, luciferase was produced in lepidopteran Trichoplusia ni insect cells using a baculovirus expression vector. The recombinant protein was equipped with a polyhistidine affinity tag at the carboxyl terminus and purified by immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography in combination with an expanded bed adsorption system. This approach enabled an efficient, one-step purification protocol of a genetically modified luciferase with properties similar to those of the authentic counterpart. According to light emission measurements, the final yield of highly purified protein was 23 mg l−1 of cell culture. In addition, no specific interaction of interfering …