Science

Overview

Synthetic Biology uses engineering concepts to leverage the power of biology. Through the design and construction of biological systems it is now possible to turn organisms into living factories, capable of producing chemicals previously attainable only through expensive extractions or through the use of petrochemicals. Amyris is at the forefront of this emerging field, using Synthetic Biology to tackle problems for which nature has yet to find a solution.

Amyris has developed genetic engineering and screening technologies that enable us to modify the way microorganisms, or microbes, process sugar. By controlling these metabolic pathways, we are able to design microbes, primarily yeast, and use them as living factories in established fermentation processes to convert plant-sourced sugars such as those from sugarcane or sweet sorghum into target molecules.

We first developed and applied our technology to create microbial strains to produce artemisinic acid, a precursor of artemisinin, an anti-malarial therapeutic. Our first commercialization efforts have been focused on a molecule called farnesene, which forms the basis for a wide range of products varying from specialty chemicals such as detergents, cosmetics, perfumes and industrial lubricants, to transportation fuels such as diesel.

Learn more about our industrial synthetic biology platform and production process.