Marje Kasari, microbiology reacher

Recombinant proteins are an important group of products that are widely used in various sectors, including food and pharmaceutical industries, in production of textiles, detergents, cosmetics and biofuels. Proteins can only be produced by living cells, often in bacteria. In the bioproduction process of recombinant proteins, various selection methods, most often antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotics, are used to ensure the maintenance of the product gene in the production strain. Unfortunately, antibiotics are costly to utilise and eliminate from the end-product as required by the regulations. In addition, the use of antibiotics in large scale increases the risk of spreading the antibiotics resistance.

We are developing a biotechnological platform that allows the production of different proteins in bacteria without using antibiotics or any other selection method. Our solution is as effective as the conventional ones, but because it does not use antibiotics there is no need to certify that the end-product is antibiotics-free. This is especially important for products used in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Marje Kasari, PhD, Research Fellow, group leader   

Villu Kasari, PhD, Research Fellow

Ritu Ghosh, PhD student, Junior Research Fellow

Arvi Jõers, PhD, Associate Professor