Industry is already making use of rare sugars as low-calorie sweeteners, and as precursors of anti-cancer and antiviral medicines. However, their high cost has impeded research and use: it is not possible to isolate significant amounts of rare sugars directly from nature, and consequently their production has been expensive.
The efficiency of sugar production can be increased through gene technology. In her recent doctoral dissertation Anne Usvalampi, Lic.Sc. (Tech.), studied the microbial production of three rare sugars — xylitol, l-xylulose and l-xylose with the help of genetically modified bacteria.
“We added certain genes to the bacteria, making them produce the enzymes that we wanted, and with their help, the desired rare sugars. The results were promising,” Usvalampi says.
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