Abstract:Objective To achieve efficient expression of the alkaline laccase PIE5 in Coprinopsis cinerea with molasses as a substitute for glucose as the carbon source.Methods We enhanced the laccase production in C. cinerea by either exogenous addition of the invertase GspInv or endogenous co-expression of GspInv to hydrolyze sucrose in molasses. The fermentation conditions were optimized based on the laccase activity.Results With 40 g/L molasses as the carbon source, strain CcPIE5-14 achieved the laccase activity of (11.9±1.2) U/mL, while sucrose remained unutilized in the fermentation liquid. Upon addition of exogenous GspInv, sucrose in the fermentation liquid was hydrolyzed into fructose and glucose, and strain CcPIE5-14 exhibited the peak laccase activity of (14.8±0.7) U/mL in the medium with 30 g/L molasses. Co-expression of GspInv in CcPIE5-14 generated the engineered strain CcPIE5-14-GspInv-12, which demonstrated the maximum laccase activity of (28.1±2.4) U/mL in the mKjalke medium. When using molasses as the carbon source for laccase production, strain CcPIE5-14-GspInv-12 achieved the peak laccase activity of (20.1±2.7) U/mL, which represented a 2.24-fold increase over that of the parental strain CcPIE5-14. Following fermentation condition optimization, strain CcPIE5-14-GspInv-12 attained the maximum laccase activity of (44.6±2.6) U/mL, which marked a 2.22-fold enhancement over the pre-optimization level.Conclusion The engineered strain CcPIE5-14-GspInv-12, co-expressing laccase and invertase, demonstrates efficient production of the alkaline laccase PIE5 in C. cinerea with cost-effective molasses as the carbon source.