YEAST HAS LONG been a friend to human substance abusers. These masterful microbes, among the first fungi domesticated by humans, can take simple sugar
from any number of sources and, like magic, ferment it into ethanol. Soon, though, yeast could be used to generate other, more illicit substances,
bringing us one step closer to the possibility of homebrewed smack.
A paper published today in Nature Chemical Biology details a novel process for replicating poppy’s opiate-producing chemical pathways by genetically
modifying good ol’ Saccharomyces cerevisiae. That technology could lay the foundation for low-cost drug discovery, potentially producing anti-cancer
therapeutics, antibiotics, and other narcotics. The only hitch: With the right opioid-producing yeast strains, it would also be easier to create
morphine, heroin and other drugs at home—no Walter White-level smarts required. Just call it Breaking Bread. No, wait, Brewing Bad.
“Right now, you would need a background in synthetic biology and genetics to overcome the challenges to produce the right kind of yeast,” says
John Dueber, a bioengineer at UC Berkeley and lead author on the study. “It is not an imminent threat. But if a strain made for licit purposes got
out, then all that would be required is knowledge of brewing beer to ferment it into morphine.”
|