In an aspect, the disclosure provides methods for making neurotransmitters in a host organism. The neurotransmitters can be cannabinoids and derivatives of cannabinoids. The host cells can be microalgae, fungi or other host cells. In a related aspect, the disclosure provides host cells engineered to have biochemical pathways for making neurotransmitters such as cannabinoids.

The invention provides engineered biosynthetic pathways that can be used to produce cannabinoids from fatty acids, recombinant microorganisms incorporating such pathways, methods of biosynthetically producing cannabinoids from fatty acids, and cannabinoids so produced.

The present disclosure provides recombinant host cells comprising a pathway capable of producing a cannabinoid and/or cannabinoid precursor, wherein the pathway comprises an enzyme AAE from a source organism other than Cannabis sativa, such as Humulus lupulus. The disclosure also provides methods of using the host cells to produce rare cannabinoids and/or rare cannabinoid precursors.

Described herein are non-natural olivetol synthase (OLS) variants, nucleic acids, engineered cells, method s for preparing cannabinoids, and compositions thereof. The non-natural olivetol OLS variants form desired cannabinoid precursor and products at increased rates, have higher affinity for pathway substrates, and/or byproducts are formed in lower amounts in their presence, as compared to wild type OLS. The OLS variants can be used to form linear polyketides, and can be expressed in an engineered cell having a pathway to form cannabinoids, which include CBGA, its analogs and derivatives. CBGA can be used for the preparation of cannabigerol (CBG), which can be used in therapeutic compositions.

Disclosed herein are microorganism and methods that can be used for the synthesis of cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) and cannabinoids. The methods disclosed can be used to produce CBGA, Δ.sup.9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), cannabichromenic acid (CBGA), Δ.sup.9-tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid (THCVA), cannabidivarinic acid (CBDVA), cannabichromevarinic acid (CBCVA), Δ.sup.9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabichromene (CBC). Enzymes useful for the synthesis of CBGA and cannabinoids, include but are not limited to acyl activating enzyme (AAE1), polyketide synthase (PKS), olivetolic acid cyclase (OAC), prenyltransferase (PT), THCA synthase (THCAS), CBDA synthase (CBDAS), CBC A synthase (CBCAS), HMG-Co reductase (HMG1), and/or famesyl pyrophosphate synthetase (ERG20). The microorganisms can also have one or more genes disrupted, such as gene that that controls beta oxidation of long chain fatty acids.

The present invention relates to a method for the recombinant production of olivetolic acid (OA) in a host species selected from amoebozoa, based on a hybrid-gene or enzyme of polyketide synthase 37 (PKS37) in which the C-terminal type III PKS domain from an amoeba is replaced by an olivetol synthase (OLS) from a plant, and is expressed together with an olivetolic acid cyclase from a multi-gene expression vector. Further provided is a recombinant amoebozoa host species, and an improved method for producing Δ.sup.9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or other cannabinoids.

This document relates to using bidirectional, multi-enzymatic scaffolds to biosynthesize cannabinoids in recombinant hosts.

Provide are modified host cells that are engineered to decrese expression of a product to undetectable levels in the presence of an exogenous agent, and increase expression of the product in the presence of another exogenous agent. The modified yeast strainshost cells do not express detectable levels of a precursor or substrate used to make the product. The product can be a cannabinoid or precursor thereof, and the substrate can be hexanoate. Also provided are methods for making a product using the modified host cells. The modified host cell can be a yeast strain, such as S. cerevisiae.

Strains of yeasts are provided containing the genes for the production of cannabinoids from fatty acids. The enzymes that mediate cannabinoid production are localized to the cytosol, peroxisome or different compartments within the secretory pathway (e.g., endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, vacuole) to ensure efficient production. The engineered microorganisms produce cannabinoids in a controlled fermentation process.

Nucleic acid molecules encoding polypeptides having polyketide synthase activity have been identified and characterized. Expression or over-expression of the nucleic acids alters levels of cannabinoid compounds in organisms. The polypeptides may be used in vivo or in vitro to produce cannabinoid compounds.