Sugar high: the yeast that can be used to brew cannabis, not beer

[Judi Lynn]

Scientists develop GM strain that can produce cannabinoid compounds with addition of sugar

Hannah Devlin Science correspondent

@hannahdev
Wed 27 Feb 2019 13.00 EST

Scientists in California have developed a strain of yeast that can be used to brew cannabis extract rather than beer.

With just the addition of sugar, the genetically modified yeast fermented to produce pure cannabinoid compounds including mind-altering THC and the non-psychoactive CBD, which is used medically to treat conditions including chronic pain and childhood epilepsy.

The scientists, who have already launched a cannabinoid brewing company, say the process is considerably cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly than extracting the compounds from marijuana plants.

Jay Keasling, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California Berkeley, was the lead author of the study. “The process is just like brewing beer,” she said. “You feed the yeast sugar and they produce the cannabinoid you want to produce, rather than ethanol, which they would normally produce.”

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/feb/27/gm-yeast-brew-cannabis-beer-scientists-california