Chinese researchers engineer yeast to produce cancer drug precursor 1,000x faster

Researchers at Zhejiang University have engineered yeast to produce a crucial precursor for the cancer drug vinblastine at rates nearly 1,000 times higher than previously achieved. This breakthrough, a result of interdisciplinary collaboration involving synthetic biology and protein engineering, addresses the scarcity and high cost associated with sourcing the drug from the Madagascar periwinkle plant. The team successfully inserted the 30-step synthesis pathway into brewer's yeast, overcoming challenges related to the instability of intermediate compounds. AI

RANK_REASON Publication of a scientific paper detailing a novel method for producing a drug precursor. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=0.1]

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• Lian Jiazhang
• Qu Yang
• Science
• University of New Brunswick
• vinblastine
• Wang Yajie
• Westlake University
• Zhejiang University
• ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Centre

• paper
• product
• other

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