The number of Parkinson’s disease patients worldwide has exceeded 8.5million and continues to rise.In Taiwan, the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease has also significantly grown. (The data below is from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Administration)
Obviously, we should boost social awareness and support for those affected by this condition.
Levodopa plays an important role in the medicine of Parkinson’s disease patients. Currently, the most commonly used method for synthesizing levodopa is chemical synthesis.But, there are several significant environmental risks, such as ozone layer depletion and heavy metal contamination.
In recent years, the world has been facing global warming due to the steadily rising levels of carbon dioxide. Our team is committed to developing zero-carbon emission solutions by using tobacco plants to produce levodopa. During the cultivation and growth of tobacco, these plants can perform photosynthesis, and we hope that the carbon dioxide absorbed by the tobacco will offset the carbon emissions produced during other stages of the process.
CSMU_NCHU_Taiwan aims to explore the production of L-DOPA in Nicotiana benthamiana using metabolic engineering and synthetic biology approaches with a BaMV-based vector. We hope to produce levodopa through biological synthesis with tobacco plants, providing a new therapeutic option for patients with Parkinson's disease. Additionally, we anticipate that our production model can be applied to different plants in the future, injecting vitality into the field of synthetic biology.