1. BBSRC – www.bbsrc.ac.uk/research/biotechnology-bioenergy2. Innovate UK – https://connect.innovateuk.org/documents/2826135/26197541/

Communicating+the+Bioeconomy+2015.pdf3. http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/06/asia/china-malaria-nobel-prize-tu-youyou

Industrial Biotechnology, the bioeconomy and high value chemicals from plants

High Value Chemicals from Plants is a BBSRC-funded Network in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy

imag

e co

urte

sy o

f: Alga

eCyte

s Ltd

4. www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2015/research/anti-malarial-plant-chinese-approval5. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/resveratrol#food-sources6. www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/industrial-biotechnology/2015/151026-pr-beneficial-natural-

compounds-from-plants-in-tomatoes

Industrial Biotechnology is the use of biological resources to produce and process materials, chemicals and energy. Biological resources can include plants, algae, marine life, fungi and micro-organisms1. These resources are renewable and can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Plants have an amazing capacity to synthesize and store a vast array of compounds which are known as ‘secondary’ metabolites because they are not required for ‘primary’ functions such as growth, respiration and reproduction, but may have a role in functions such as defence and signalling. Plant secondary metabolites are often naturally produced in small quantities and scientists can use industrial biotechnology to improve production within the source plant or transfer production to an alternative system to produce greater quantities of the product. Natural products have an important part to play in the ‘bioeconomy’ – economic activity derived from bio-based products and processes which contributes to sustainable and resource-efficient solutions to the challenges we face in food, chemicals, materials, energy production, health and environmental protection2.

Here are some examples of how scientists are using plants to produce useful and valuable products ...

Artemisia annua has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine

for thousands of years for the treatment of fever. In 1972, the active ingredient artemisinin was identified and this

now forms the basis for the recommended treatment for

malaria, ‘artemisinin combination therapy’. The Chinese scientist

who discovered artemisinin was awarded a Nobel Prize in 20153.

Scientists have developed a new variety of Artemisia annua which

produces more of the antimalarial drug artemisinin in its leaves, to help reduce the cost and stabilise the supply of this life-saving medicine4.

Paclitaxel is a valuable anticancer drug naturally found in Yew trees. Due to the slow growth of yew trees, they are not a sustainable source for paclitaxel and supply does not meet the current demand. Scientists hope to transfer production to plant cell cultures to achieve sustainable industrial-scale production.

Tomatoes have been engineered to produce industrial quantities of a compound called resveratrol, which is naturally

found in red wine and has a number of potential health benefits5 as well as a compound called genistein which is

naturally found in soybean and may help prevent certain types of cancers6. This was achieved by introducing a new protein into

tomato plants to improve the production of natural compounds. This new approach offers a platform to quickly produce valuable

medicinal compounds more economically through the use of a high yielding crop.

Omega 3 oils such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are recommended as part of a balanced diet and

supplements containing these are traditionally harvested from fish. However, fish do not make

these omega oils themselves – they obtain them from their diet of algae. To improve environmental

sustainability, algae are being developed which produce higher quantities of beneficial omega 3 oils

and could provide a vegetarian source of this valuable product in the future.

Avenathramides are chemicals found in oats that have possible beneficial roles in inflammation, heart disease and certain cancers. Scientists are working to improve the yields of the most clinically bioactive oat avenathramides and develop healthier oat grains through a targeted oat breeding programme.

https://hvcfp.net