The UCSC iGEM team project for 2018 will be to produce steroid hormones in yeast: specifically progesterone. Progesterone is a hormone that the female body naturally produces that can suppress ovulation. The right to control one’s own fertility is a basic human right. Regretfully though, in 2014 it was estimated that 225 million women worldwide aged 15-49 years had unmet need for contraception. These numbers are abysmal and we hope that we can help change that.
There is a lack of access to family planning services for women across the globe.
The ability to pursue an education, sports, a career… all start with the luxury to choose when, and if, to begin a family.
Progesterone is a hormone naturally produced by women, and can be used to suppress ovulation and act as a form of contraception.
Y. lipolytica is a GRAS organism that has an advanced genetic toolbox and can be easily grown in most environments.
We will engineer Y. lipolytica to produce progesterone; our hope is to localize contraception production and increase availability in developing nations.
