Scientists identify opium poppy codeine and morphine genes

Discovery raises possibility of manufacturing painkillers more cheaply using vats of microbes rather than fields of flowersScientists have identified the two genes in opium poppies which are used to make codeine and morphine, two of the most important painkillers in a doctor's armoury.The discovery opens the door to alternative ways of making the drugs which do not involve giving over vast areas of farmland to growing the flowers. One hope is to transfer the genes into microbes, which could be grown in vats and provide huge quantities of the drugs at a fraction of the cost of farming and processing the plants.Researchers said the findings could lead to the creation of strains of opium poppies that cannot make morphine, the opiate chemical turned into heroin and exported from Afghanistan and other countries for illicit use.More than 2,500 hectares of British fields have been turned into opium poppy farms to meet...

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