Aggregation as bacterial inclusion bodies does not imply inactivation of enzymes and fluorescent proteins

BACKGROUND: Many enzymes of industrial interest are not in the market since they are bio-produced as bacterial inclusion bodies, believed to be biologically inert aggregates of insoluble protein. RESULTS: By using two structurally and functionally different model enzymes and two fluorescent proteins we show that physiological aggregation in bacteria might only result in a moderate loss of biological activity and that inclusion bodies can be used in reaction mixtures for efficient catalysis. CONCLUSION: This observation offers promising possibilities for the exploration of inclusion bodies as catalysts for industrial purposes, without any previous protein-refolding step.