SITTING before me is a vial of cloudy white broth. Biologist Patrick Boyle invites me to take a sniff. To my amateur nose, the liquid smells green and sweet, a little like fresh-cut grass, a little like a bunch of flowers.
The concoction is a microbial perfume. Cooked up in the laboratories of Ginkgo BioWorks in Boston, it contains yeast that has been genetically engineered to smell of roses.
— As previously reported, Robertet and Gingko Bioworks are working on a bioengineered rose oil. Read more at Would you wear yeast perfume? Microbes used to brew scent at NewScientist. Hat tip to Bob!
This is really cool – the ability to produce a mix of compounds via fermentation is good from a environmental/ethical standpoint. Imagine, you could make ambergris notes, civet, whatever without impacting those animals and their environments. However, it would make me sad if it was only financially motivated and areas that have grown roses for centuries no longer have motivation to do so once it’s more convenient for the fragrance companies to buy yeast-made rose oil. Sigh. Progress vs tradition is a never ending thing I guess.
I’m sure for companies like Robertet, the more salient factor is that areas that once grew lots of rose can no longer do so in a cost effective manner. But I do know what you mean.