A GPCR-based yeast biosensor for biomedical, biotechnological, and point-of-use cannabinoid determination

A GPCR-based yeast biosensor for biomedical, biotechnological, and point-of-use cannabinoid determination | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A GPCR-based yeast biosensor for biomedical, biotechnological, and point-of-use cannabinoid determination Karel Miettinen, Nattawat Leelahakorn, Aldo Almeida, Yong Zhao, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-743436/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Jun, 2022 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The decriminalization of cannabis and the growing interest in cannabinoids as therapeutics require efficient methods to discover novel compounds and monitor cannabinoid levels in human samples and products. However, current methods are limited by the structural diversity of the active compounds. Here, we construct a G-protein coupled receptor-based yeast whole-cell biosensor, optimize it to achieve high sensitivity and dynamic range, and prove its effectiveness in three real-life applications. First, we screen a library of compounds to discover two novel agonists and four antagonists and demonstrate that our biosensor can democratize GPCR drug discovery by enabling low-cost high-throughput analysis using open-source automation. Subsequently, we bioprospect 54 plants to discover a novel phytocannabinoid, dugesialactone. Finally, we develop a robust portable device, analyze body-fluid samples, and confidently detect illicit synthetic drugs like “Spice”/“K2”. Taking advantage of the extensive sensing repertoire of GPCRs, this technology can be extended to detect numerous other compounds. Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementalInformationv8.pdf Supplementary information nrreportingsummaryNCOMMS2128728.pdf Reporting Summary Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Jun, 2022 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-743436","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":48073278,"identity":"0161effc-ed60-4e77-ad32-5b1820010795","order_by":0,"name":"Karel Miettinen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Copenhagen","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Karel","middleName":"","lastName":"Miettinen","suffix":""},{"id":48073279,"identity":"792c7c4c-f63d-4af2-9d42-c20cf6578924","order_by":1,"name":"Nattawat Leelahakorn","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of 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