Resurrecting the past: characterization and evolution of cannabis enzymes

In the last two decades, the enzymes allowing cannabis to produce cannabinoids have been identified and characterised. 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 synthesised 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.