Patent ID: 8211648

Claim:
A method for producing an antibody, comprising the steps of: (a) culturing an E. coli host cell containing a prlA4 mutation (SEQ ID NO: 1) and at least one expression vector comprising a polynucleotide molecule encoding a heavy chain polypeptide of the antibody and a polynucleotide molecule encoding a light chain polypeptide of the antibody, under conditions that express the polynucleotide encoding the heavy chain polypeptide and the polynucleotide molecule encoding the light chain polypeptide of the antibody, wherein at least one of the polynucleotides encodes a polypeptide lacking a signal peptide, (b) secreting the heavy chain polypeptide and the light chain polypeptide across a cytoplasmic membrane, and (c) forming the antibody from the heavy chain polypeptide and the light chain polypeptide.