All articles tagged with #biosynthesis
Tufts researchers engineered E. coli to convert glucose into tagatose, achieving up to 95% yield and enabling cost-effective production of a sugar-like sweetener that delivers ~92% of sucrose sweetness with ~60% fewer calories, a smaller glycemic impact, and potential oral/gut health benefits; it browns like sugar and could serve as a bulk sweetener, with FDA GRAS status.
A black fungus, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, thriving in Chernobyl's radioactive environment, shows unusual growth patterns under radiation, leading to theories of a potential 'radiosynthesis' process that could convert radiation into energy, with implications for space shielding and astrobiology. Despite ongoing research, the exact mechanisms remain unknown, but the fungus's resilience and unique properties make it a promising subject for future scientific and space exploration applications.
A Danish research team has decoded the full biosynthetic pathway of Taxol, a vital chemotherapy drug, enabling its production in yeast, which could lower costs, reduce environmental impact, and improve access to cancer treatment worldwide.
Chinese scientists have decoded the biosynthetic pathway of the rare anticancer drug paclitaxel and successfully reproduced it in tobacco plants, offering a potential solution to the scarcity of the compound found in the Pacific yew tree. The research, published in Science, identified a new understanding of the synthesis pathway and introduced a method to artificially constitute the biosynthetic pathway for the key precursor of paclitaxel in tobacco. This breakthrough could pave the way for sustainable and alternative production methods, potentially leading to green and efficient manufacturing of paclitaxel in the future.
Researchers have used ancient DNA to investigate the evolutionary history of lipid II targeting glycopeptide antibiotics (GPAs), a class of antibiotics used to treat resistant bacterial infections. They discovered that modern GPAs have evolved from an ancestral GPA called paleomycin, which resembles the more complex structure of teicoplanin. By reconstituting the biosynthesis of paleomycin, the researchers confirmed its antibiotic activity. They also identified the genetic changes that led to the evolution of modern GPAs, including alterations in the peptide core and changes in the biosynthesis of key components. This study provides insights into the evolution of GPAs and could aid in the development of new antibiotics.
Researchers have discovered a third purine biosynthesis pathway in phages that replaces adenine with aminoadenine, a modification previously only found in Archaea. The pathway involves a novel enzyme, GpPurZ0, which catalyzes the conversion of IMP to 2-aminopurine ribonucleotide. The discovery suggests an evolutionary progression from Archaea to phages and expands our understanding of the diversity of DNA biosynthesis pathways.