Tuesday, October 27, 2015

A Genetically Modified Yeast Turns Sugars into Painkillers


Researchers at Stanford University have modified yeast to produce opiate painkillers from sugars.  Normally, opiates are created from a plant, the opium poppy, and take a year to be fully converted from farm to pharmacy.  Using plants to produce medicine is very common, however plants’ main purpose is not to produce these medicines, so it is not an efficient process most times.  By using yeast, these researchers believe they will be able to produce opiates with more efficiency.  Similarly, a team at the University of California Berkeley used yeast to produce the building block of morphine.  

The researchers at Stanford first had to genetically re-create enzymes so the yeast would create thebaine, not the amino acid tyrosine as they normally do.  Thebaine is the precursor to hydrocodone, or more commonly known as Vicodin.  The genes needed to convert hydrocodone into Vicodin were inserted into the yeast from plants, rats, and bacteria.  At this point, the yeast are not very efficient, producing 1 dose of opiates per 4,400 gallons of yeast, but the researchers believe there is room for great improvement and have already taken steps toward new experiments.  

I think this is a huge medical advancement.  Considering the opium poppy is only grown in select areas of the world, it seems that development of opiates is limited.  Relying on plants for medicine means pest infestations, drought, and climate change can affect our ability to produce important medications.  Along with not having to deal with these issues, the benefits to using yeast are lowering the cost of production of opiates, and making them more available to those who need them.  The largest controversy this research brings up is if yeast can be used to produce opiates, maybe down the road they can be “home-brewed” by those who do not need the medication.  However, this is unlikely because the genes needed to modify the yeast would be difficult to acquire. It seems the benefits these yeast provide may change modern medicine.  

Original Article

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