Engineered baker's yeast offers new route to produce key chemotherapy drugs
Scientists have reprogrammed baker's yeast to synthesize the cancer medicines etoposide and teniposide, reducing dependence on the endangered Himalayan plant Sinopodophyllum hexandrum.
The traditional manufacture of etoposide and teniposide depends on low-yield extraction from Sinopodophyllum hexandrum, a rare Himalayan species. Researchers have now charted a complete biosynthetic pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, enabling the yeast to produce these drugs. This approach could simplify production, lower costs, and spare the threatened plant. The medications are widely used for lung, blood and other cancers. The work showcases synthetic biology as a tool for sustainable drug manufacturing.
Why it matters
It could lower chemotherapy costs and protect an endangered Himalayan plant.
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