poppy plant genes into yeast to manufacture morphine. The research is important because opiates are medically essential. However, current production
via opium poppy leads to supply inefficiencies.
A few years ago biologsts demonstrated that a bio- engineered yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) could produce benzylisoquinoline alkaloid (BIA)
metabolites, including the alkaloids from which morphine is derived. S. cerevisiae is more commonly used as baker's yeast.
In a further development, Stanford University's Christina Smolke and her colleagues have discovered that S. cerevisiae engineering to express additional enzymes can be coaxed to synthesize naturally occurring opiates and semisynthetic opioids from BIA precursor molecules. The results represent a significant step toward engineered yeast–based biomanufacturing of morphine.
With the study, yeast strains were engineered to express specific genes from bacteria. This allowed the yeast to convert convert thebaine to codeine,
morphine, hydromorphone, hydrocodone and oxycodone; thereby creating medically important opiates. The researcher's optimized approach was capable of yielding up to 131 miligram of opioid products per liter.
Discussing the research, biochemist Neil Bruce from
the University of York, U.K., told The Scientist: "The
authors have demonstrated that it is possible to develop a technology platform in yeast that allows the transformation of [the opiate alkaloid] thebaine
to a variety of opiate drugs by mixing and matching microbial and plant enzymes. This is [an] elegant piece of synthetic biology."
The new development has been published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. The research is
titled "A microbial biomanufacturing platform for
natural and semisynthetic opioids".
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