Opiates from yeast sparks narcotic fears
Print Edition
Scientists said yesterday they had unlocked a pathway for producing opiates from genetically-engineered yeast but feared the discovery could one day be a bonanza for drug lords.
Other experts agreed, saying anyone with basic skills could use such a yeast to churn out morphine, codeine and drugs using a simple home-brew beer kit.
The discovery, published in the scientific journal Nature Chemical Biology, comes on the heels of a study published last month in the journal PLOS ONE.
Together, the papers describe key steps towards bio-engineering yeast that would feed on sugar and exude opiates and other therapeutic drugs.
The goal is to provide cheaper and possibly less addictive painkillers from a dependable source, as compared to the poppy.
In yesterday’s study, biologists at the University of California at Berkeley inserted an enzyme gene from beets to coax yeast into converting tyrosine — an amino acid easily derived from sugar — into a compound called reticuline.
Reticuline is a molecular “hub,” meaning it is the springboard for making morphine, codeine and oxycodone, as well as anti-spasmodic drugs like papaverine.
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