Bacteriological Production of THC in E. Coli

[Chimera]

cannabis medical research

evidence supporting marijuana's medical value

Donnerstag, 27. Oktober 2011
Science: Production of THC by genetically modified bacteria

Scientists of the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany, have genetically manipulated bacteria in a manner that allows them to produce the main psychoactive compound of cannabis. This procedure for the production of THC (dronabinol) is thought to be less laborious and therefore cheaper in comparison to the currently used procedure in Germany, said Oliver Kayser of the university on 17 August.

To date, dronabinol has been produced from fibre hemp in Germany. Cannabidiol (CBD) is extracted from this hemp and converted into THC. Chemical extraction from THC-rich drug hemp is not allowed in Germany. The synthetic manufacture of dronabinol would also be costly in comparison to the new procedure. Kayser is anticipating production costs with the new procedure of only about 2,500 EURos per kilogram of THC. E. coli bacteria with isolated genes are responsible for the production of THC in the plant are used.
Together with a pharmaceutical company, the University of Dortmund is planning the foundation of a company for THC production.
(Source: Standard of 17 August 2010)
More at: http://derstandard.at/1281829392202...e-viel-Aufwand-Cannabis-Wirkstoff-produzieren

International Association for Cannabis as Medicine:
http://cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/ww_en_db_cannabis_artikel.php?id=329#1

Technical University of Dortmund:
http://www.tb.bci.tu-dortmund.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40&Itemid=49

Combinatorial Biosynthesis of Tetrahydrocannabinol (PDF):
http://www.tb.bci.tu-dortmund.de/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=48&&Itemid=47

Key Words: Cannabis sativa, THC, CBGA, prenyl transferases, cannabinoids, metabolic engineering, biocatalysis, cytochrome


Bacteria can produce cannabis substance THC

Biochemists at the Technical University of Dortmund have succeeded for the first time in producing THC in bacteria. Tetrahydrocannabinol, a pain-relieving substance, is normally found in cannabis plants and is increasingly used in the treatment of chronic diseases. The Federal Government recently announced that it is planning to ease restrictions on the use of THC in medicines. Oliver Kayser and his team at the Technical University of Dortmund have identified genes in the plants that are responsible for THC formation. These have been transplanted into E.coli bacteria. The end result: highly isolated pure THC. The new process is apparently much cheaper than current production techniques. Medical THC is currently produced in Germany using actual hemp plants. Because hemp fibres contain less than 0.2 percent THC in total, the production process is elaborate and expensive. For legal reasons the active ingredient cannot be extracted from cannabis plants that can contain up to 25 percent THC. Annual production volumes are currently about 20 kilograms; actual medical needs, however, are about a tonne, estimate the researchers in Dortmund. “We want to go a bit further in our work in the future, and insert THC-producing human enzymes as genes in the microorganisms. It is also hoped that this genetic extension of the potential of bacterial metabolisation will produce metabolic products that can be used as reference materials in forensic analysis to detect illegal drug consumption.

Biotechnologie.de - English - News:
http://www.biotechnologie.de/BIO/Navigation/EN/news,did=120554.html

 

[Chimera]

Someone tell Keyser that Herbal Cannabis will never be replaced by synthetic THC or THC derived from chemical synthesis!!

Herbal cannabis far exceeds the efficacy of pure THC due the the entourage effect of the various terpene combinations found in different individuals. We will never let them stop us from treating ourselves with the most effective form of cannabinoids known to humanity: well grown, natural cannabis.

It's just a plant...

Respectfully,
-Chimera

 

[paladin420]

^^^^ good lookin out....Could not help myself from seeing synthenic E-coli THC zombies climbing over the fence,lookin for the real thing....aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

 

[dank.frank]

Ugh. The last couple of sentences really stand out as bad. But pure thc from bacteria is interesting, still expensive, still missing the entire spectrum of cannabinoids, and the complexities of how they interact. So, as we have said, until big pharma can cash in, prohibition reigns supreme...


dank.Frank

 

[Tony Aroma]

Or, they could change the law and allow extraction from actual marijuana plants. Just saying.

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

Wow, if this E coli strain escaped from the lab and became established in everyone's intestinal flora ... ??? !!!

edit; No not zombies. Everybody would be HIGH all the time. We'd be comparing the buzz we get from feeding our intestinal flora different nutes. I think they should work on some terpene producing E coli next so we can tailor this effect.

 

[mofeta]

I think they should work on some terpene producing E coli next so we can tailor this effect.

They are way ahead of you:

Terpene Factory. Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous is a yeast well known for the industrial production of the orange food dye asthaxanthin. By genetic modification knock out lines are constructed to accumulate biosynthetic terpenoid precursors. By construction of genetic strains with multiple cloning cassettes we build universal strains for cloning genes of interest to biosynthesize non functionalized terpenoids.

SOURCE

 

[rasputin]

Or, they could change the law and allow extraction from actual marijuana plants. Just saying.

Silly talk!! That would be logical and efficient.

 

[mofeta]

Or, they could change the law and allow extraction from actual marijuana plants. Just saying.

That would be too easy, and make too much sense.

Right now the hemp derived THC is costing 50K euros/Kg! With the new fermentation process, they expect it to be 2,500 euros. I wonder what it would cost if you just grew high THC plants and extracted them? With a good closed-system reflux extraction device, the cost would essentially be reduced to the cost of growing the weed, and the electricity to power the lab equipment (and the one time solvent purchase of course). I think the price would be less than $100, including labor.

I also found it humorous that they cloned the CYP P450 genes into the hosts also! Gotta improve drug tests! I think that they may intend to make testing kits that will not only determine if you have been consuming pot, but what kind of pot. You could develop a "metabolic fingerprint" for different strains with the data derived from these cytochrome-infused bugs. This may be in anticipation of the new laws on medical mj that they are planning in Germany. They would be able to tell if you had been consuming weed of verboten source.

By the way Tony, I have been trying to give you rep for months now, but always get the "You must spread some rep around..." message, even though I have made a point of doing so. I just wanted to let you know I enjoy your posts. You show good form, mate!

 

[mofeta]

This is OT, but if you look at the other news on that last page that Chimera links to, you will see a note about the discovery of "Chlorophyll f" last summer. Chlorophyll f absorbs long-wavelength (near-infrared) photons. I don't want to clog this thread talking about it, but it is a really exciting, important, far-reaching discovery.

 

[Pangea]

At best this is just a giant waste of money and resources, fool's slime,.

 

[Rusty420]

dont ecoli make aspartame also, either way it sounds like a bad idea to me..