DNA2.0 Awarded US Patents for Breakthrough Gene Optimization Technology -- Company's Unique Algorithm Enables Expression Yields up to 50 Times Greater than Competing ...(most currently used algorithms are based...)

"Despite the increasing availability of synthetic genes over the last decade, little was understood about the relationship between heterologous expression and gene design. Clearly, the prevailing hit-or-miss approaches are suboptimal," said Mark Welch, Director of Gene Design and co-inventor on the patent. "Instead, our technology empirically identifies gene characteristics that ensure reliable, high protein expression in any host system. We are grateful to the National Science Foundation for funding the three-year study that has allowed us to elucidate the rules on which our patents and algorithms are based."

The NSF-supported study involved synthesis of sets of genes and analysis of their expression in E coli. From this work, Dr.¬ Welch was able to derive a set of sequence properties that correlate highly with good expression. New genes designed using these properties expressed well, confirming the validity of the algorithms. The claims in application 12/184,240 broadly cover the use of this successful and powerful approach to optimize sequences for expression in any organism.

"Our overarching gene design technology is far more effective than traditional codon optimization techniques that simply use codon biases of native genes," said Claes Gustafsson, VP of Sales and Marketing and co-inventor on the patents. "DNA2.0 is currently working with partners to apply our patented technology to a wide range of organisms to increase expression yields and to discover a wider range of applications for optimized genes."

One of the rules that has emerged from Dr Welch's work is that constraining the incorporation of certain codons in a gene to a frequency range rather than a single frequency value can be of substantial benefit. Application 12/184,234 claims the use of codon frequency r
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