Scientists at the University of Warwick in the UK have developed a biological method that mimics how plants work to produce vital chemical compounds for applications in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. Using enzymes in the same way as plants, scientists have created bacteria that "digest" molecules to synthesize new compounds in a process that is reusable and generates minimal waste. 

Their results were published in the journal ACS Catalysis and can help the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries make their manufacturing process more environmentally friendly. Scientists focused on reproducing the process called indole-3-acetamide (AMI), which is used by plants to produce compounds such as indolamides, carboxylic acids and auxins. These compounds have several agrochemical and pharmaceutical applications, but are difficult to manufacture for the industry, except for the use of chemical catalysts, which produce a large amount of highly toxic chemical residues.

Although scientists have known for decades how nature produces these molecules, until now there was no technology that could reproduce them in an industrial process. The study, funded by the UK Research and Innovation and the Royal Society, was led by Dr Binuraj Menon of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick. Menon said that "We knew that there are several paths to auxin molecules in plants. In addition, some phytopathogenic bacteria use these pathways to infect and grow in their roots. However, when trying to rebuild it into a friendly industrial microbial host, we always face various functional problems."