Serious Issues with Taxol Production

         Not surprisingly, there is an ever-increasing demand for taxol. Unfortunately, current production methods for the drug do not provide a long-term, sustainable supply. Taxol is derived from the bark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia, but isolation from its natural source is hindered by the slow growth of the tree and by the low concentration of the drug in the bark. Consequentially, large numbers of yew trees must be harvested for modest returns. Other production methods make use of chemical and semi-chemical synthesis, but the intricate stereoisomerism and multistep pathway of taxol production result in low yield rates (about 2%) and high production costs. Deriving taxol from nature is environmentally unsustainable; chemically synthesizing it is economically unsustainable. Biosynthesis of taxol is the best solution to the shortcomings of the aforementioned production methods. Plant cell fermentation has been shown to synthesize taxol somewhat effectively and requires minimal harvesting of the yew tree. As impressive as plant cell fermentation is, the potential for paclitaxel synthesis in bacteria, an organism much simpler and far more optimized for fermentation, is vastly greater. Duke iGEM’s goal is to optimize the biosynthesis of taxol in E.coli.

Duke iGEM’s goal is to optimize the biosynthesis of taxol in E.coli. We are building on the work of the 2016 Duke iGEM team, which started the design and execution of this biosynthesis project. Their website can be found here. Our project has planned and worked to assemble a 5 gene pathway that, when expressed, can make taxol from a cheap intermediate. Our project has also tested the protein expression of the 5 genes in our pathways.