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).
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 to 450 million tons.
Biosciences Scientists Featured in The New Yorker
Biosciences scientists Héctor García Martín, Jay Keasling, and Jill Banfield (whose primary affiliation is with the Earth & Environmental Sciences Area) were mentioned an article by Amia Srinivasan entitled “What Termites Can Teach Us” published in The New Yorker. Read the article.
Biosciences and Energy Sciences Areas Host Biomaterials Workshop
On July 16-17, Biosciences, along with the Energy Sciences Area, hosted an internal workshop to discuss and identify paths forward for biomaterials research at Berkeley Lab and in larger contexts–across the national laboratory complex, at universities, and in the private sector– that would enable the creation of new materials with performance-advantaged properties. This workshop continues the program development efforts established through the recent Advanced Biogenic Chemicals and Materials Laboratory-Directed Research and Development initiative established at Berkeley Lab in 2017.
Keasling and JBEI Profiled in MIT Technology Review
Biosciences CSTO Jay Keasling and the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), which he oversees as CEO and Director of New Pathways and Metabolic Models, were profiled for the MIT Technology Review website. In the feature entitled “The Scientist Still Fighting for the Clean Fuel the World Forgot,” Keasling discusses the progress made in the quest for affordable advanced biofuels, and underscores the need for continued research.
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