GM Yeast to Produce Valuable Materials from Urine

Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), the University of California (UC) Irvine, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) genetically modified (GM) yeast to take the elements in urine and create hydroxyapatite. The findings of their study, published in Nature Communications, provide a practical mechanism for reducing the cost of wastewater treatment.

The research team engineered a strain of Saccharomyces boulardii, a yeast closely related to the species used in brewing beer and making bread, to create “osteoyeast,” a GM yeast that mimics osteoblasts. Inspired by the growing biotechnology trend called “pee-cycling,” the research team saw an opportunity to expand the global impact of their invention by using urine as a sustainable source of essential minerals.

Yasuo Yoshikuni, head of the DNA Synthesis Science Program at the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), explained that pee-cycling has faced limited adoption due to cost challenges. With the development of osteoyeast, this engineered yeast can produce high-value hydroxyapatite by extracting phosphorus and calcium directly from urine. “If we're able to produce both hydroxyapatite and make nitrogen fertilizer from the ammonia, we could potentially replace a significant portion of total demand of nitrogen; saving energy while also dramatically reducing the costs at wastewater facilities,” Yoshikuni said.

For more information, read the article from Berkeley Lab.