Florida researchers use synthetic biology to boost production of green sunscreen

In Florida, researchers have used synthetic biology to develop a  route to produce shinorine, a natural sunscreen ingredient traditionally extracted from red algae.

Yousong Ding and colleagues at the University of Florida inserted genes responsible for shinorine production in filamentous cyanobacterium Fischerella and inserted them into fast-growing cyanobacteria  Synechocystis. They then focused on boosting production by adding promoters to the gene cluster.

Synthetic sunscreen ingredients have been implicated in disrupting hormones in aquatic environments. Shinorine has been eyed as a viable alternative, but relies on seasonal growth of red algae.

The work was published in a recent issue of ACS Synthetic Biology.