Mold may be 'pharmaceutical factory'

European researchers say a type of mold can be genetically engineered to produce valuable medicinal products, according to UPI news agency .

Scientists at Vienna University of Technology (Austria) have introduced bacterial genes into trichoderma to produce important chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry from a waste material called chitin , capital. is the main ingredient in the crust of crustaceans.

When decomposing chitin, trichoderma can produce n-Acetylneuraminic acid (NANA), which can be used to make antiviral drugs, the researchers said.

Trichoderma mold

Expert Astrid Mach-Aigner, the lead researcher, said: 'We know that trichodermna can break down chitin, which is what the fungus usually does in soil. Often trichoderma decomposes chitin into a single amino acid sugar, but with new genes, this fungus can produce NANA '.

According to the researchers, chitin is the second most available bio-polymer on Earth after cellulose, existing in crustaceans, insects, snails and mollusks. Therefore, it can be said that this is a sustainable resource for chemical synthesis.