Both the natural and chemical methods to make vanilla are costly and environmentally burdensome, but a new approach using the advances of synthetic biology offers a promising third way. Starting with glucose, yeast is able to “ferment it just like beer,” explains Kevin Munnelly, CEO of the biotech company Gen9. “It’s the first flavor made by synthetic biology, and it’s entering commercial viability.”
To get to this point, genes for three enzymes from three different organisms – a dung mold, a bacterium, and humans – were inserted into the yeast cells. In Munnelly’s view, the construction of an engineered pathway to produce a high-value molecule such as vanillin is an important success story in the synthetic biology community.
Predicting exactly how to achieve this tenuous balance between sustainable cell survival and product generation is challenging, but with reliable and affordable DNA synthesis, experimenters need not restrict themselves to a single attempt. “We can make a variety of different gene constructs, so you don’t have to pick just a few options to test,” says Munnelly. “And it’s an iterative process – we can do this quickly, so the results can feed back into the design.”
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As synthetic pathways enter the industrial pipeline, Munnelly predicts that other products will join vanilla on the synthetic biology-produced shelf. Gen9 customers are actively developing fragrances, cosmetics, and other spices like saffron.
Read full original article: Are Microbes the Taste-Makers of the Future?
