Bioengineered Cannabis

 

                                                                                 Cannabis 

                                                                  Bioengineered Cannabis 

                           UC Berkeley: Engineered yeast strains producing THC and CBD

Biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, have (in a sense) found a way for the two to work together. According to results published in the February 27 issue of Nature, they’ve successfully engineered classical brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to transform sugars into a range of different cannabinoids, including THC and CBD.

Jay Keasling’s Lab (Feb 2019)

• Transferred over a dozen genes—including those from Cannabis sativa, bacteria, and hops—into Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer’s yeast) to rewire its metabolic pathways
• Enabled yeast to convert simple sugar (galactose) into CBGA, the core precursor to THC and CBD

Snapshot 

UC Berkeley succeeded in engineering brewer’s yeast to serve as a cannabinoid factory—generating THC, CBD, rare analogues, and entirely new molecules using sugar as input.