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This Phase I Small Business Innovative Research project will involve the construction of DNA expression vectors that will facilitate the production and secretion of high levels of peptides and other fermentation products in bacteria. The vectors willallow for simultaneous production and secretion of the target peptide and a reporter peptide. A hallmark of the proposed project is the development of an on-line, real-time, fermentation monitoring system that will allow improved process control duringthe fermentation process. The proposed research will address the need for improved large-scale production of a wide range of peptides, including antibodies for detection and defense of chemical and biological weapons, and industrial enzymes forbiocatalysis. The feasibility of this approach will be demonstrated by constructing the expression vectors and producing a commercially important lipase enzyme that can be used for creating enantio-pure feedstocks for the production of pharmaceutical andfine chemicals. The products of this Phase I research will be a series of versatile cassette-based expression vectors and host organisms designed for optimum expression and secretion of peptides, and a design for an on-line monitoring and process controlsystem for industrial-scale fermentation.Both the vectors and fermentation control systems developed during this project will have a wide range of government and private sector applications. The technology will be useful for large-scale production of antibodies for detecting and inactivatingchemical and biological warfare agents, and it will be useful for producing commercial quantities of a wide range industrial enzymes and non-proteinacious fermentation products.