Researchers from Northeastern University developed a first-of-its-kind bioengineered strain of yeast capable of synthesizing withanolides, the bioactive compounds sought after in ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), a popular adaptogenic herb.

Precision fermentation has shaken up the health and wellness industry in recent years, with several biotechnology firms bringing bioreactor-grown bioactives to market for the first time, promising sustainable, vertically-integrated, and chemically pure supplies of plant—based bioactive compounds, vitamins, enzymes, flavors, fats, postbiotic solutions, and more.

The team of researchers sequenced the genome of ashwagandha, which was largely unknown at the time. Then, through “metabolic engineering in yeast, complemented by heterologous expression in Nicotiana benthamiana and virus-induced gene silencing in W. somnifera,” the researchers were able to uncover the withanolide biosynthetic pathway, narrowing it down to six genes. They then bioengineered yeast with these six genes successfully, opening “new avenues for the sustainable production of withanolides through biomanufacturing and for drug development leveraging the withanolide scaffold,” they wrote in Nature Plants.

Compared to the growth and cultivation of ashwagandha, producing withanolides through genetically-engineered yeast is “orders of magnitude” more efficient, said Jing-Ke Weng, professor of chemistry, chemical biology, and bioengineering at Northeastern University, while speaking to Northeastern Global News’ Cody Mello-Klein. “We not only discovered the pathway through this yeast engineering approach but by the end of this paper we have a prototype yeast strain that can be industrialized to produce withanolides,” Weng told Mello-Klein.