Friday, May 20, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Medical Finance
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • Insights From Industry
  • Thought Leaders
  • Coronavirus
  • Whitepapers
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • Insights From Industry
  • Thought Leaders
  • Coronavirus
  • Whitepapers
No Result
View All Result
Medical Finance
No Result
View All Result
Home News

A new method to produce complex natural products in amoebae

by Medical Finance
in News
TetraScience announces 300% ARR growth and 2021 achievements; prepares for next phase of growth
9
SHARES
101
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A research team at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute (Leibniz-HKI) in Jena, Germany has developed a new method to produce complex natural products in amoebae. These polyketides include various antibiotics but also olivetolic acid, a precursor of the herbal active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The results were published in Nature Biotechnology.

Polyketides are natural products with a wide range of therapeutic applications. Among them are dietary supplements, various antibiotics such as erythromycin, and one of the key cannabinoid precursors: Olivetolic acid. It is needed for the synthesis of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The medical use of this psychoactive substance is being intensely researched, and it is already being used to provide relief for patients with neurological diseases and pain, among other things.

THC is a natural ingredient in the cannabis plant. “However, isolating THC in its pure form from the abundance of substances is very complex,” says Falk Hillmann, head of the junior research group “Evolution of Microbial Interactions” at Leibniz-HKI and coleader of the study. Chemical synthesis of THC on the other hand is expensive and the yield is low. That’s why he and a team are researching how such plant substances can be efficiently produced biotechnologically.

“So far, bacteria such as Escherichia coli or the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are mainly used, but neither of them are native producers of natural products,” explains Vito Valiante, head of the cooperating junior research group “Biobricks of Microbial Natural Product Syntheses” at the Leibniz-HKI. Accordingly, a large number of genetic modifications is necessary to enable synthesis in these classic model organisms. The research team is thus looking for alternatives. One promising candidate is the amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, which already possesses numerous biosynthetic genes for the production of natural products such as polyketides. “Taking a closer look at the genes, we noticed that some show a high similarity to plant biosynthetic genes,” said first author Christin Reimer, who is working on the topic for her PhD.

To test how well D. discoideum is suited as a chassis organism for biotechnological production, the researchers first had the amoeba produce the food supplement resveratrol, also a polyketide. Afterwards they incorporated the plant enzyme that produces the THC precursor olivetolic acid into the amoeba’s genome. However, the addition of chemical precursors was still necessary to enable the synthesis.

To circumvent this, the researchers took advantage of the amoeba’s natural properties and combined the plant enzyme with an amoebic enzyme. “The amoeba is able to produce the required precursor, a hexane unit, directly on site,” Hillmann explains. Thus, the research team succeeded in producing a functional inter-kingdom hybrid enzyme that produces olivetolic acid without any further additives.

Through our research, we have shown that the amoeba Dictyostelium can be used as a biotechnological production platform for polyketide-based natural products.”


Christin Reimer, First Author

The researchers already filed a patent for the process, and are striving to improve it on an ongoing basis. “Our next goal is to insert the two enzymes that are still missing in order to be able to produce the final product THC in the amoebae,” Hillmann says.

Moreover, a team from the Bio Pilot Plant at the Leibniz-HKI was also involved in the research. Johann Kufs, joint first author of the study alongside Reimer, is in charge of developing and optimizing the synthesis process for industrial application.

The work was supported by the research group program of the state of Thuringia with funding from the European Social Fund as well as by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) – among others, as part of the “GO-Bio initial” program.

Source:

Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knoell Institute

Journal reference:

Reimer, C., et al. (2022) Engineering the amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum for biosynthesis of a cannabinoid precursor and other polyketides. Nature Biotechnology. doi.org/10.1038/s41587-021-01143-8.

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Medical Finance

Medical Finance

Related Posts

PhoreMost and POLARISqb announce a multi-target collaboration to investigate next-generation cancer therapies

New insights into molecular mechanisms that underpin the body’s natural defenses against skin cancer

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

A study published today in Cell Reports reveals important insights into the molecular mechanisms that underpin the body's natural defenses...

Monitoring the presence of enteric pathogens in imported seafood

Monitoring the presence of enteric pathogens in imported seafood

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

To monitor the presence of enteric pathogens in imported seafood, the authors of this paper collected a total of 140...

AI-driven solution predicts RNA and DNA binding sites to accelerate rational drug discovery

AI-driven solution predicts RNA and DNA binding sites to accelerate rational drug discovery

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

The iMolecule group from Skoltech has developed an artificial intelligence-driven solution that uses data on the structure of RNA or...

Excelitas technologies introduces µPAX-3 Pulsed Xenon Light Source

Excelitas technologies introduces µPAX-3 Pulsed Xenon Light Source

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

Excelitas Technologies Corp., a leading industrial technology manufacturer focused on delivering innovative, market-driven photonic solutions, announces the new µPAX-3 Pulsed...

Uno single tube reader

High resolution single tube reader

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

From Ziath LtdJan 12 2022Reviewed by Maria Osipova Ziath announce the Uno single tube reader – a powerful device packed...

Flowmeter Solutions for High-Speed Batch Dosing

Flowmeter Solutions for High-Speed Batch Dosing

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

Titan Enterprises has published a white paper reporting on an investigation into the use of electronic flow meters in high-speed...

Next Post
Study: SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Professional Orchestra and Choir Musicians – A Prospective Cohort Study. Image Credit: Skreidzeleu/Shutterstock

Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in orchestra and choir musicians

Study: NRP1 and furin as putative mediators of SARS-CoV-2 entry into human brain cells. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock

Researchers discover mechanism behind SARS-CoV-2 entry into the brain

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Login
Notify of
guest
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Support

  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms And Conditions

Categories

  • Coronavirus
  • Insights From Industry
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • News
  • Thought Leaders
  • Whitepapers

More News

  • ImageForNews 704875 16451525019953237
    How accurate are rapid antigen COVID tests?
  • Study: Host genomes for the unique SARS-CoV-2 variant leaked into Antarctic soil metagenomic sequencing data. Image Credit: Alex.Munoz / Shutterstock
    Antarctic soil sample from 2018 adds to the enigma of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms And Conditions

© 2022 Medical Finance - Latest Financial and Business News

No Result
View All Result
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • News
  • Insights From Industry
  • Coronavirus
  • Thought Leaders
  • Whitepapers
wpDiscuz
0
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
| Reply