For centuries, “humans have cultivated cannabis for the pharmacological properties that result from consuming its specialized metabolites, primarily cannabinoids and terpenoids,” wrote Lacey Samuels, PhD, professor of botany at the University of British Columbia, and her colleagues, in September. Today, scientists seek ways to improve cannabis production.
Samuels and her colleagues used quantitative electron microscopy to study cannabinoid-related enzymes. By tracking the intercellular pathways, these scientists developed a model of how cannabis cells produce metabolites, such as tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA). Samuels and here team concluded: “This new model can inform synthetic biology approaches for cannabinoid production in yeast or cell cultures.”
