Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Tailor made beer – thanks to science!

We can all rest easy; the future of the beer industry is in good hands. Many of the beers you drink are given their distinctive flavors thanks to the yeast used in fermentation. However up until recently it was impossible for beer brands to maintain perfectly consistent flavor because their yeast would gradually be altered over time. Even reproducing the yeast from the same colony would eventually lead to changes in its genetic makeup as random mutations occurred. Thanks to a team of geneticists from Johns Hopkins University brewers (and brew drinkers) may no longer need to fear the loss of their favorite flavors.


An article in Popular Mechanics explains that a team of scientists led by Jef Boeke are creating the first synthetic yeast chromosome. While it has been possible to make alterations and splice in specific genes to yeast’s genetic code this is the first time that scientists have completed the insertion of a full chromosome for this organism. Their eventual goal is to synthesize an entire genome for the yeast, introducing new segments in an eleven-part process. Given that yeast’s genetic code is made up of approximately 11 million base pairs, this is no small undertaking. What makes this so exciting is the ability to alter and modify the code as they go. The researchers have cut out portions of the basic genetic code they believe to be unnecessary, allowing them to lessen the total number of nucleotides they need to insert. This sort of specificity will allow researchers to tailor organisms to their personal needs in the future.



In the case of beer not only does it mean that the flavor should remain true for years to come, but it also leads to exciting new opportunities for changing the flavor of traditional brews. Your next Hefeweizen might just have been genetically altered to give you that clove and banana smell you’ve come to know and love.

Posted by: Kirk MacKinnon (8)

8 comments:

  1. Although wine is my personal beverage of choice, I must say that there is something truly satisfying about an ice cold beer in the evening! I was just wondering, is there a time frame for the final coding to be completed?

    -Taylor Schille

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    1. They don't actually specify how long it will take. Simply stating that it is now just a matter of "time and money". From what I understand though its a fairly time consuming process - not the least of which being designing the new chromosomes. In this case they used undergraduate classes at Johns Hopkins to do the designing.
      Posted by: Kirk MacKinnon

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  2. Wow! This read is really interesting. I wonder how long it will be before other organisms of interest are genetically altered to "perfection". If the techniques used for the yeast are applicable to other organisms isn't it possible that this technology could some day be applied to humans (granted humans are more complex than single celled yeast).

    Posted by Tim Daly

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    1. Its definitely possible this will be applied to humans or other organisms in the future. Right now its still a long way off - especially the idea of "perfection". The custom designed chromosomes they're using right now have never been tested. Each new insertion could result in the death of the yeast, so it certainly hasn't been perfected yet.

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  3. It's always interesting to see how science can be applied to improve such a large array of topics. But, typically food is not one that is encouraged. Genetically modified (GMO) foods are often thought of as unnatural and even unhealthy. Would synthesizing the yeast for beer fall under the category of GMO products?

    -NB

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  4. This sounds like an awesome advancement in science! Personally I love an Ice cold beer, so this is very exciting. However how safe do you think this is? Do you think there could be any harmful side effects of consuming synthetic yeast chromosomes? there is something about consuming such genetically modified substances seems a bit scary. Are they going to be testing this in the mice in the near future?
    posted by kristen whitehead

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  5. Very interesting post. Its wild how much we can do with science. Who ever thug ht beer would be next on the list to be genetically modified. I also wonder whether or not this would be listed as a GMO product. Also, are there any health benefits or costs with this type of product?
    -Samuel Ustayev

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