Synthetic Biology
[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
Amyris and Crystalsev Form JV for Renewable Hydrocarbon Fuels; Renewable Diesel from Sugarcane by 2010
April 23, 2008
Amyris Biotechnologies, a synthetic biology company focused on developing renewable hydrocarbon biofuels (earlier post), and Crystalsev, one of Brazil’s largest ethanol distributors and marketers, are establishing a joint venture to commercialize advanced renewable fuels—including diesel, gasoline and jet fuel—made from sugarcane.
The partners are targeting their first product, a renewable diesel that works in today’s engines, for commercialization in 2010. Scale-up and testing work to date indicate that this fuel scales more quickly and economically than currently available biofuels, and reduces emissions by 80% over petroleum diesel.
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Venter Institute Scientists Create First Synthetic Bacterial Genome
January 24, 2008
A team of 17 researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) has created the largest man-made DNA structure by synthesizing and assembling the 582,970 base pair genome of a bacterium, Mycoplasma genitalium JCVI-1.0.
This work, published online today in the journal Science by Dan Gibson, Ph.D., et al, is the second of three key steps toward the team’s goal of creating a fully synthetic organism. (Earlier post.) In the next step, which is ongoing at the JCVI, the team will attempt to create a living bacterial cell based entirely on the synthetically made genome.
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UCLA Researchers Modify E. Coli to Produce Efficiently Higher-Chain Alcohols for Advanced Biofuels
January 02, 2008
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| The UCLA approach shifts part of the bacteria’s biosynthetic pathway to alcohol synthesis. Various 2-keto acid precursors lead to corresponding alcohols through 2-ketoacid decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at UCLA have genetically modified Escherichia coli to produce efficiently several higher-chain alcohols from glucose, including isobutanol, 1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol and 2-phenylethanol. A description of the work appears in the 3 January issue of the journal Nature.
Instead of relying on fermentation for the production of the alcohols, the UCLA approach—developed by professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering James Liao, postdoctoral fellow Shota Atsumi and visiting professor Taizo Hanai—leverages E. coli’s highly active amino acid biosynthetic pathway by shifting part of it (its 2-keto acid intermediates) to alcohol synthesis. In particular, the research team achieved high-yield, high-specificity production of isobutanol from glucose.
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Synthetic Biology Fuel Company Secures $3.6M in Venture Funding
December 07, 2007
OPX Biotechnologies, a new company dedicated to enabling economically viable biofuels and biorefined chemicals through the genetic engineering of microbes, has secured $3.6 million in venture funding led by MDV (Mohr Davidow Ventures). OPX also appointed Robert B. Chess as Chairman and CEO and established its board of directors.
OPX, founded off the work of University of Colorado professors Ryan Gill and Michael Lynch, uses a first-of-its-kind, massively parallel, full genome search technology platform known as SCALEs (SCalar Analysis of Library Enrichments). SCALEs allows researchers to find and identify causative genes and then test gene modifications to achieve the characteristics needed for specific fuel and chemical products 1,000 to 5,000 times faster than conventional methods, according to the company.
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University of Alberta Team wins iGEM Prize for Bioengineering E. Coli to Produce Butanol
November 07, 2007
A 10-member team of University of Alberta students, who call themselves the “Butanerds,” won first prize in the Energy and the Environment category at the fourth annual International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition held this past weekend at MIT.
The team has been working on manipulating E. coli to produce butanol by introducing the genes responsible for butanol production from Clostridium acetobutylicum (i.e. endogenous butanoate pathway) into E. coli. Furthermore, the team is working to increase E. coli’s tolerance to solvents such as butanol.
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Report from JCVI, CSIS and MIT Outlines Policy Options for Synthetic Genomics
November 06, 2007
Policy experts from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have released a report, “Synthetic Genomics: Options for Governance,” which outlines areas for interventions and policy options to help mitigate potential risks with this area of research.
Synthetic genomics combines methods for the chemical synthesis of DNA with computational techniques for its design, allowing scientists to construct genetic material that would be impossible or impractical using more conventional biotechnological approaches. Scientists foresee many potential positive applications including new pharmaceuticals and biologically produced, green fuels.
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Scientists Synthesize Memory Loop in Yeast Cells; First Artificial Gene-Based Device Accompanied By Predictive Mathematical Model
September 16, 2007
Researchers at Harvard Medical School have successfully synthesized a DNA-based memory loop in yeast cells. These findings mark the first time that a gene-based device is accompanied by a predictive mathematical model, and represent a significant step forward in the emerging field of synthetic biology. A paper on the work is published in the current issue of the journal Genes and Development.
After constructing genes from random bits of DNA, researchers in the lab of Professor Pamela Silver, a faculty member in Harvard Medical School’s Department of Systems Biology, not only reconstructed the dynamics of memory, but also created a mathematical model that predicted how such a memory “device” might work.
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UC Irvine and Synthetic Biology Company Collaborate to Re-Engineer Yeast for Optimized Cellulosic Biofuel Production
September 04, 2007
Scientists from UC Irvine and CODA Genomics are partnering on new research aimed at engineering Saccharomyces cerevesiae—a common strain of yeast used in the production of beer, wine and bread—into an efficient producer of cellulosic ethanol.
In its natural state, Saccharomyces processes glucose but does not contain the necessary enzymes to process other sugars, such as xylose and arabinose, that are components of biomass. The bio-engineered version of the yeast will produce enzymes that can help it digest these and other sugars with equal ease, maximizing its ethanol production.
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Shell Exec Signs On as President of LS9
July 30, 2007
LS9, Inc., a startup founded in 2005 to apply synthetic biology technology to the production of proprietary biofuels (earlier post), has named Robert Walsh its new President, effective immediately. Walsh will lead the rapid commercialization of LS9 DesignerBiofuels products, including a pilot facility leading to commercial production.
LS9 DesignerBiofuels products are a family of fuels produced by microbes that have been specially engineered via recently developed methods of industrial synthetic biology. LS9 hydrocarbon biofuels have higher energetic content than ethanol or butanol and have fuel properties that are essentially indistinguishable from those of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
