Venter Institute Scientists Create First Synthetic Bacter...(day'spublication the largest synthesized...)

Date:1/24/2008

day's publication the largest synthesized DNA contained only 32,000 base pairs. Thus, building a synthetic version of the genome of the bacteria M. genitalium genome that has more than 580,000 base pairs presented a formidable challenge. However, the JCVI team has expertise in many technical areas and a keen biological understanding of several species of mycoplasmas.

"When we started this work several years ago, we knew it was going to be difficult because we were treading into unknown territory," said Hamilton Smith, M.D., senior author on the publication. "Through dedicated teamwork we have shown that building large genomes is now feasible and scalable so that important applications such as biofuels can be developed."

Methods for Creating the Synthetic M. genitalium

The process to synthesize and assemble the synthetic version of the M. genitalium chromosome began first by resequencing the native M. genitalium genome to ensure that the team was starting with an error free sequence. After obtaining this correct version of the native genome, the team specially designed fragments of chemically synthesized DNA to build 101 "cassettes" of 5,000 to 7,000 base pairs of genetic code. As a measure to differentiate the synthetic genome versus the native genome, the team created "watermarks" in the synthetic genome. These are short inserted or substituted sequences that encode information not typically found in nature. Other changes the team made to the synthetic genome included disrupting a gene to block infectivity. To obtain the cassettes the JCVI team worked primarily with the DNA synthesis company Blue Heron Technology, as well as DNA 2.0 and GENEART.

From here, the team devised a five stage assembly process where the cassettes were joined together in subassemblies to make larger and larger pieces that would eventually be combined to build the whole synthetic M. genitalium genome. In the first step, sets of four cassettes were joined to
'/>"/>

SOURCE J. Craig Venter Institute Copyright©2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

0 GOOD

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Related biology technology :

1. AstraZeneca and Banner Alzheimers Institute Collaborate to Evaluate New Tool Targeting Alzheimers Disease
2. National Cancer Institute Study to Determine the Optimal Time for CLL Patients to Begin Treatment
3. Digital Healthcare Announces Cincinnati Eye Institute is Latest Retasure Reading Center
4. Discovery Institute Bioethicist Lauds Breakthrough in Stem Cells Research that Eliminates Need for Human Cloning
5. The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation Opens Shop on USC Health Sciences Campus
6. Infectious Disease Research Institute Receives Grant for Acquisition of Core Research Equipment from M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust
7. The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation Opens Shop on US Health Sciences Campus
8. National Institutes of Health Awards $25.5M Contract to SRA
9. Caliper Life Sciences Awarded National Institute of Environmental Health Services Contract Valued to $7.0 Million
10. HUYA Bioscience International Licenses Clinical Stage Anti-Arrhythmic Compound from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica
11. Solazyme Selected for National Institute of Standards and Technology Award