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Project properties |
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| Title | Resurrecting the past: characterization and evolution of cannabis enzymes |
| Group | Biosystematics Group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Dr. Cloé Villard |
| Examiner(s) | Dr. Robin van Velzen |
| Contact info | cloe.villard@wur.nl
Dates can be determined. |
| Begin date | 2022/11/10 |
| End date | 2024/12/31 |
| Description | Cannabis is a famous yet controversial plant that have long been used by humans for medicine, recreative purposes, and fibre production. It is particularly renowned for its ability to produce psychoactive compounds called cannabinoids, the most famous and abundant ones being Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
In the last two decades, the enzymes allowing cannabis to produce cannabinoids have been identified and characterized. However, the molecular mechanisms behind the enzyme activities are still not completely understood, and little is known about the emergence and evolution of these activities. To fill this knowledge gap, you will resurrect and characterise ancestral cannabis enzymes. For this, you will use phylogenetics tools to infer the sequence of ancestral genes. These ancestral genes will then be synthesized and expressed in yeast, and activity assays will be performed on the resulting enzymes. This will help determine the activity of ancestral cannabis enzymes and monitor the mutations that led to the emergence of new activities. |
| Used skills | Molecular biology, biotechnology, enzymology, phylogenetics & bioinformatics |
| Requirements | Basic experience and strong interest in molecular lab work. Rigor and precision are fundamental for enzyme characterization. Interest in evolution. |