Cell-free protein expression systems have certain advantages over cell-based systems especially during the following situations

• Protein to be expressed is toxic to the cell
• Protein forms inclusion bodies and is insoluble
• The mRNA is subject to rapid degradtion by endogenous nucleases or the protein is degraded by intracellular proteases
• Proteins to be produced have high commercial value and need to be manufactured using less processing steps

Revathi et al in a recently published paper have compared the uses of different cell-free translation systems and have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of one system over the other. They have reviewed the wheat germ system for scalability and industrial application. To access the pdf of the article click here .