It is now possible to make THC using tequila bacteria. A German pharmaceutical company called Farmako is responsible for developing the process. Their genetically modified tequila bacterium produces a range of biosynthetic cannabinoids (the stuff that you usually get by growing marijuana plants) by feeding on sugar.
According to the company, their process could make producing cannabinoids like tetrahydrocannabinol (better known as THC) a thousand times cheaper, literally. 1 kilogram of THC would cost around one thousandth less using their biosynthetic process, thus dramatically cutting production costs, saving the industry money and facilitating cheap, industrial-scale production. They have already registered a patent for it and are working on making it commercially and medically available as soon as possible.
Two Techniques
There are reports of a team of researchers at UC Berkeley who figured out a way to manufacture THC and cannabidiol (CBD) from specially bioengineered brewer’s yeast. That technique is different from the one Farmako came up with. The technique by Farmako is the first production of cannabinoids through biosynthesis without the use of yeast.
They say that using bacteria instead of yeast could make the process of extracting cannabinoids much easier on an industrial scale. This is because, when using the yeast technique, the cannabinoids and the yeast cells have to be broken up after synthesis. The bacteria, on the other hand, “releases the produced cannabinoids directly into the surrounding medium,” said Patrick Schmitt, co-founder of Farmako, in a press release. “This allows continuous production without interruption.”
Co-founder of Farmako and chief science officer Patrick Schmitt said:
“With one production run, we can produce cannabinoids for 900 hours without interruption. For example, 4.5 kilograms of THC are produced per gram of bacterial mass during this time… In principle, nothing else happens during biosynthesis than during alcohol fermentation, with the difference that cannabinoids instead of alcohol are the outcome of the process. All we need as a starting point is glucose.”
Zymomonas Cannabinoidis
The newly named bacterium Zymomonas cannabinoidis is a gene-edited version of Zymomonas mobilis (the one which is normally used to produce tequila). To stop the bacterium from producing alcohol, the team removed genes from the bacterial genome. It produces cannabinoids by eating sugar (glucose). That’s not all! It has the ability to produce a massive range of them – more than 180 known cannabinoids. To switch between cannabinoids, “only a single gene has to be exchanged,” said Schmitt.
How Schmitt modified the bacterium Zymomonas mobilis:
- Using gene scissors, he was able to remove certain genes which are usually responsible for alcohol production.
- Then, he introduced genes from the malaria pathogen and the cannabis plant.
- The alteration enabled the new gene-edited bacterium to produce cannabinoids from glucose.
The company named the new bacterium Zymomonas cannabinoidis.
Niklas Kouparanis, CEO and co-founder of Farmako, added:
“Making any cannabinoid synthetically and incredibly efficient is the breakthrough for cannabis in medicine. Our patent will revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry in cannabis as much as the biosynthesis of insulin. The cannabis industry is therefore facing such rapid upheavals as, for example, the entertainment industry when Netflix became popular.
As a research-based pharmaceutical company, we ensure that the many previously unknown possibilities of cannabinoids are finally empirically explored for the benefit of patients and put into practice. This patent application puts us in a unique position worldwide.”
There was a recent report that projected Cannabis drinks sales in the US would pass the US$1 billion mark within four years. It’s becoming legal all around the world now. Among the drinks companies that have invested or are reported to be interested in the sector include Constellation Brands, Coca-Cola, Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, Diageo, Molson Coors, and Heineken.
It has been legal for medical and recreational use in Uruguay since 2013, then Canada in 2018. Medical cannabis has been legal in Germany since 2017. And More and more states around America as well every year. Perhaps, the whole world will eventually legalize cannabis and Farmako is preparing to be at the forefront of this shift.
