Overexpression of Recombinant Selenoproteins in E. coli

Expression of selenoproteins necessitates a process of decoding of a UGA codon from termination of translation to insertion of selenocysteine. The mechanisms of this process pose major challenges with regards to recombinant selenoprotein production in E. coli, which however can be overcome especially if the Sec residue is located close to the C-terminal end, as is the case for several naturally found selenoproteins. This chapter summarizes a method to achieve such a production.