Biotechnology: Brewing up cannabinoids in yeast
Nature
February 28, 2019
Several major cannabinoids (chemical compounds found in cannabis) have been produced by genetically modified yeast, reports a paper published online this week in Nature. This work could lead to the efficient production of different types of cannabinoids, independently of cannabis cultivation.
Specific cannabinoids have been approved as prescription drugs in several countries for treating various illnesses. Cannabinoids are currently derived from the cannabis plant, where they are found at relatively low abundance. This, in addition to their chemical complexity, has hampered the large-scale production of cannabinoids.
Jay Keasling and colleagues genetically modified brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to produce cannabinoids via biosynthesis. The authors introduced cannabis genes into the yeast’s metabolic pathways to produce cannabinoid precursor molecules, such as olivetolic acid, from the simple sugar galactose. From olivetolic acid, the yeast was able to produce the key cannabinoid cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), which could in turn be used to produce Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA).
The authors also demonstrated that synthetic cannabinoids, such as chemically modified THCA, could be produced from fatty acids instead of galactose. Together, these results lay the foundation for the large-scale production of both natural and synthetic cannabinoids, which could improve pharmacological research into these compounds.
doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-0978-9
Research highlights
-
Jun 24
Sport science: New wearable sensor to measure neck strain may detect potential concussionScientific Reports
-
Jun 23
Scientific community: Women credited less than men in scientific paper authorshipNature
-
Jun 22
Planetary science: Modelling electrolyte transport in water-rich exoplanetsNature Communications
-
Jun 15
Robotics: Taking millimetre-scale origami robots for a spinNature Communications
-
Jun 9
Astrophysics: A new repeating fast radio burstNature
-
Jun 2
Quantum computing: Photonic processor lights up the route to quantum computingNature