Bacteria tweaked to produce high yields of colour-changing pigment behind octopus camouflage

Bacteria can be genetically engineered to make the intriguing pigment that gives octopuses their camouflage powers, with yields up to a thousand times higher than traditional methods.

It is hoped that the ‘plug in and play’ approach could also be used to accelerate production of many other useful chemicals and materials, enabling the move away from fossil-fuel based materials.