How can I increase expression of my 6xHis-tagged protein in E. coli?
Low-level expression can occur because the protein is toxic or unstable, or because the expression construct is not maintained in the cells during growth. In some cases, the 5' end of the inserted DNA sequence may encode elements that interfere with transcription or translation (e.g., masking of the Shine-Dalgarno sequence by stem-loop structures resulting from inverted repeats). In these instances, the sequence being expressed should be checked and modified if necessary. Modifications of growth media and different host strains may also have an effect on expression.
Please review the section "Specific considerations" in the Chapter 'Expression in E. coli' of the QIAexpressionist Handbook and refer to standard literature in protein science (e.g., Current Protocols in Protein Science, eds. John Wiley and Sons, New York) for additional information.