gadusol

Easier production of gadusol brings the chemical one step closer to use as a more eco-friendly, transparent sunscreen for humans.

Natural sunscreen found in fish eggs can be made by E. coli factories Matthew Sparkes 2026

Then, by using small RNA molecules to dial up gadusol production in the bacteria and tweaking their growing conditions, they increased the yield by nearly 93 times, from 45.2 milligrams per litre of liquid growth medium to 4.2 grams per litre.

Natural sunscreen found in fish eggs can be made by E. coli factories Matthew Sparkes 2026

In experiments, gadusol displayed antioxidant properties comparable to vitamin C, suggesting it may help neutralise free radicals that cause damage in cells.

Natural sunscreen found in fish eggs can be made by E. coli factories Matthew Sparkes 2026

“The active ingredient could be gadusol, but I guarantee 99 per cent of what’s in that bottle of sunscreen someday in the future is going be just stuff to hold the gadusol to your skin so it doesn’t wash off,” says Gagnon.

Natural sunscreen found in fish eggs can be made by E. coli factories Matthew Sparkes 2026

But he warns that there are two hurdles to overcome before gadusol can be commercialised.

Natural sunscreen found in fish eggs can be made by E. coli factories Matthew Sparkes 2026

“The active ingredient could be gadusol, but I guarantee 99 per cent of what’s in that bottle of sunscreen someday in the future is going be just stuff to hold the gadusol to your skin so it doesn’t wash off,” says Gagnon.

Natural sunscreen found in fish eggs can be made by E. coli factories Matthew Sparkes 2026

A team led by Ping Zhang at Jiangnan University, China, inserted genes from zebrafish into the bacterium Escherichia coli to give it the enzymes needed to synthesise gadusol.

Natural sunscreen found in fish eggs can be made by E. coli factories Matthew Sparkes 2026