Most of my adult life has been spent working in various Biotech companies [I went from lab tech to facility tech to facility coordinator/manager - not that you care ].

One of the things that is big in this industry is taking a cell line and introducing a foreign gene into it so that it produces something of value.

For example: isolating the gene that makes insulin, getting a cell line to accept it such that the cell then produces insulin. You could then grow large bioreactors [read: Vats] of the cells and then harvest insulin from it .

In the job where I got the idea, we were using some cell line [I don't even remember what it was] and using it to produce bacillo viruses, which were used as a bio-pesticide.

There were and are other companies doing like type stuff - so I know that the technique is doable and viable.

So I got to thinking - and I'll say right now that I have no idea how hard it would be or if it's even possible, but just imagine:

The gene [or genes] that are responsible for production of THC in marijuana plants;
Finding a cell line that would accept the gene[s] and start producing THC.

You could then harvest vast vats of THC much like the insulin in the first example.

You could also substitute mescaline for THC, or Psilocybin and/or Psilocin.

That would be biotech put to the good of mankind


Since the method of making cells produce what you want is - more or less - established [at least in a rudimentary enough form], the difficulty would lie in the same place that the projects of almost all endeavors like this are:

In finding and then isolating - if possible - the gene or genes responsible for producing THC [or whatever it is that your final product is to be].

Of course it would be time consuming, but isn't anything that has such potential payoff worth at least an initial effort?

If I had the knowledge I would have gladly used my spare time to do my own experiments. But, alas...


[This message has been edited by Metaphysicist (edited 10-16-2002).]

I think that technology is already being done to some extent. Last I heard, some cows were being engineered to produce usable hormones in their milk.

Also, experiments in recombinant DNA in bacteria are being used to make bacteria produce a desired protein or substance.

Some of what you are thinking of are chemicals whose genes that control its production is not known yet. Frankly it will be a tedious process to map a cannabis genome. But if done, hey.... insert the recombinant DNA into a host cell.

quote:

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Originally posted by Rustysickle:
I think that technology is already being done to some extent. Last I heard, some cows were being engineered to produce usable hormones in their milk.

Also, experiments in recombinant DNA in bacteria are being used to make bacteria produce a desired protein or substance.

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Well, that's what I get for rush myself and making that post when I should have slept first.

Once again: this is not a flame

Of course it's already being done, it was beiiing done 12 years ago when I got the idea.

Instead of explaining myself, I'm just going to go back and fix the original to fill in gaps I now see.

Of course you won't know that until you read this [kinda like a time loop - forget it: don't argue the point ;-)]

quote:

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Some of what you are thinking of are chemicals whose genes that control its production is not known yet. Frankly it will be a tedious process to map a cannabis genome. But if done, hey.... insert the recombinant DNA into a host cell.

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As you will have read in my post above [now that it's been corrected], this is exactly what I was think of.

I never knew you can edit a post. Oh well, learn something new everyday. I never did believe in time travel the much. ^_^

Who knows, maybe the pressure from lack of viable farming land would encourage more applications of cell culture. Instead of using more land to grow plants that produce a drug, they might raise vats of cells that make it.

Ah! Time travel! You did that on purpose, didn't you, meta.

This is absolutely possible but very unlikely from our current abilities in the art. To completely biosynth THC dozens of genes would need to be inserted in the carrier. They would all need to function then a few more variables would need to be figured out. It will be seen in the future I gaurantee it, maybe not for THC but it's coming.

I think it would be cool to insert the gene package into say a tomato plant and get stoned by eating salad.

As far as psilocybin you can grow fungi in vat cultures as asexual molds, cubensis does this, and produces it's magic in this state. If one engineered a mutated strain or crossbreed for high yeild we could do this withoput further ado. The problem is that gene maintenance needs to undertaken to prevent breakdown of your high yielding mutants.
Any openings for summer students Meta?

Side note: Scientists have inserted spider genes into goats and the spider silk protein created was extracted from the goat milk. Strong as steel yet light as plastic. Imagine the implications. Since it was a protein created you only need one gene or a couple, but for secondary product synthesis you need many genes and a suitable starting material.

Later,
trypty

I had that idea years ago in high school biology. Of cource, I wanted to engineer bacteria to produce LSD, then release them into the water supply.

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Originally posted by tryptamine:
This is absolutely possible but very unlikely from our current abilities in the art. To completely biosynth THC dozens of genes would need to be inserted in the carrier. They would all need to function then a few more variables would need to be figured out. It will be seen in the future I gaurantee it, maybe not for THC but it's coming.

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I never said it would be easy ;-)

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I think it would be cool to insert the gene package into say a tomato plant and get stoned by eating salad.

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Not to be nit picky [much, anyway], to do that wouldn't you need to have it produce whatever the THC becomes when heated [thus 'activated' for mind altering effects]?

quote:

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As far as psilocybin you can grow fungi in vat cultures as asexual molds, cubensis does this, and produces it's magic in this state. If one engineered a mutated strain or crossbreed for high yeild we could do this withoput further ado. The problem is that gene maintenance needs to undertaken to prevent breakdown of your high yielding mutants.

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Too true, I wasn't think that all the way through as I wrote it.

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Any openings for summer students Meta?

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Alas no: In fact, just a couple of weeks ago the whole of the company took a t 30% reduction in personal.

They are vacating this building soon.

I'm very much hopping that they find a replacement tenant [they pay rent even if it's empty; so they really want to find one, hopefully before they leave.
If so I plan to work for the them. So far I've been here going on 5 years, though 5 different companies; I'd like to go for 7.

Ask me again in a few months: whoever takes over the building may or may not be hiring.

Great idea. Now just think if you came up with this idea in your current staus/position. Guess how many other people have thought of it that actually get to deal with a greater level of tech. and info.
I bet there yeilding some great results and were missing out on some potent shit.
>=o)

Hmmmmmm...
I may be missing the point here, but synthetic thc already exists. I believe it is called Marinol. It was developed in 1986 or '87 I think.

Heh,heh, are you sure you didn't get that one from a Bruce Sterling novel? It would seem resonable that to use biological methods to produce organic compounds would be easier, our brain converts codeine to morphine without any help from pyridine alkaloids. One idea I actually did try was to clone the cells on a pot plant that produce trichomes, I used a sharpened pin to separate a thrchome gland from a pot leaf under a microscope and treated it with a little bit of diluted rooting hormone, and placed it in an agar dish. It, of course, did nothing, and died after a few days. I suppose the best result I could have expected was a viable clone, but fuck, I had a lot of time on my hands. On the actual subject again, what is used to produce human growth hormone? Is it cultured human cells?
Seems to me like we could come up with REALLY great drugs if we started with cells that produced endorphens and other brain hormones, they would already be tailored to pass the blood/brain barrier, and would not require any alteration by other brain chemicals to have effect. Introducing dna from plants like Phalaris grasses to cells that produce endorphens could produce psychedelic opiods. Doesn't that sound like fun?

[This message has been edited by culinaryoverlord (edited 10-20-2002).]