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Using Tiny Organisms to Unlock Big Environmental Mysteries
Biosciences Area researchers have developed a new DNA analysis technique that reveals a very interesting, and previously hard-to-study, aspect of a microbial community’s genome. As described in the journal mBio, a team led by Aindrila Mukhopadhyay of the Biological Systems and Engineering (BSE) Division has optimized existing methods to isolate plasmids—the small packages of DNA that enable microorganisms like bacteria to quickly acquire and share genes. Often, these DNA molecules, which are separate from the chromosomes, encode functions that can confer a survival advantage in certain situations. The work was conducted as part of ENIGMA, in collaboration with groups at…
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Brewing Up Cannabinoids in Yeast
Jay Keasling, a professor in the departments of bioengineering and of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Berkeley who also holds a senior faculty scientist position at Berkeley Lab, led a team that genetically modified brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to produce cannabinoids via biosynthesis. The authors introduced cannabis genes into the yeast’s metabolic pathways to produce cannabinoid precursor molecules, such as olivetolic acid, from the simple sugar galactose. From olivetolic acid, the yeast was able to produce the key cannabinoid cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), which could in turn be used to produce Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA).
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ABPDU’s Todd Pray to Head Strategic Partnership Office
Todd Pray, Program Head of the Advanced Biofuels & Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU), has accepted the position of Head of Berkeley Lab’s Strategic Partnership Office effective March 1, 2019.
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Biosciences Area Cohosts Conference on Growing the Circular Bioeconomy
The Biosciences Area recently joined the California Air Resources Board, UC Berkeley, and UC’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources in co-hosting the California Bioresources Economy Summit, aimed at harnessing biotechnology to convert California waste streams from farms, forests, and landfills into valuable low-carbon fuels and products. Associate Laboratory Director for Biosciences Mary Maxon keynoted the two-day conference as it kicked off January 29 at the David Brower Center in Berkeley. In her presentation, Maxon noted that expansion of the $370 billion per year U.S. bioeconomy could create more than 1 million jobs while reducing annual carbon emissions by up…
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Scientists Develop Higher-performance Fuels, Biofuels and Bioproducts
Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) and the Advanced Biofuels & Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU), part of the Biological Systems and Engineering (BSE) Division, have developed a new polyketide synthase-based platform and prototyped efficient production of potential biofuels, gasoline additives, and commodity chemicals.
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