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Putting the opium in poppy to sleep

Nature Biotechnology volume 22, pages 1526–1527 (2004)Cite this article

A genetically modified opium poppy produces a pharmaceutical precursor instead of morphine and codeine.

Opiates have been used as folk medicine and recreational euphorics for several thousand years. Today, the alkaloids morphine and codeine—the main active ingredients of opium poppy latex—are used in medicine as pain relievers, and heroin, an acetylated derivative of morphine, is a common substance of drug abuse. As described in this issue, Allen et al.1 have used RNA interference2 to modify the alkaloid content of the latex in the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. The transgenic poppies produce not morphine and codeine but reticuline, a precursor of various pharmaceutically active compounds, including antibacterial, antimalarial and anticancer agents.

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Figure 1: In aerial parts of the opium poppy, including unripe seed capsules (background), the analgesic alkaloids morphine and codeine are synthesized from the amino acid tyrosine via multiple enzymatic steps, with reticuline as an intermediate.

Bob Crimi

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  1. the Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Clusius Laboratory, Wassenaarseweg 64, Leiden, 2333 AL, The Netherlands

    Johan Memelink

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Memelink, J. Putting the opium in poppy to sleep. Nat Biotechnol 22, 1526–1527 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1204-1526

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1204-1526

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