Researchers at Kobe University in Japan looked at modifying yeast cells to be able to produce herbal medicine at an industrial scale. Herbal medicine is usually hard to mass produce, but yeast aided that development. The field of biotechnology being immense, yeast can play a key role in new research in different fermentation processes.
For example, artepillin C comes from bee cultures. It has several health benefits such as anticancer action, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory but is hard to produce at scale. Yeast is a great ally because when modified, it can contribute to producing this compound, thanks to industrial fermentation processes. One of the allies in these breakthroughs is Komagataella phaffii, which produces components for the desired chemicals without producing alcohol that limits cell growth.
These processes still face technical challenges, and one of the key objectives of future developments is to identify the relevant enzymes.