Genomic Enterprise

Synthetic Genomics is a nascent field of synthetic biology that is able to use aspects of genetic modification on pre-existing life forms in order to produce some product or desired behavior on newly created life.

This field is unlike genetic modification in the sense that it does not use naturally occurring genes in its life forms. It makes use of custom designed base pair DNA. Synthetic Genomics can also create and utilize genetic codes that are not composed of the four base pairs of DNA that are currently used by common life on earth.

The first synthetic genome produced in a laboratory was published in the Science Magazine in 2010 by Craig Venter's group. Click here to get the article!

Companies in this new field:

Synthetic Genomics Inc.

Synthetic Genomics Inc. was founded to commercialize genomic-driven technologies. The scientific strength of the company lies in the decades of pioneering research by its founders: J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate Hamilton O. Smith, M.D., and the leading scientific teams they have assembled. The company's scientific capabilities encompass areas such as environmental genomics, microbiology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, plant genomics, genome engineering, synthetic biology, and climate change.

Intrexon
Intrexon’s technology portfolio is designed to create better DNA at a truly industrial scale - thousands of gene programs and systems in the time that it takes traditional approaches to produce only one. The applications in the field of Synthetic Genomics include DNA and RNA engineering, protein engineering, transcriptional control chemistry, genome engineering and the manipulation of different types of cell systems to provide solutions to a variety of industries.

Non-Profit Organizations in Synthetic Genomics:

 

J.Craig Venter Institute

The J. Craig Venter Institute was formed in October 2006 through the merger of several affiliated and legacy organizations, such as The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and The Center for the Advancement of Genomics (TCAG), The J. Craig Venter Science Foundation, The Joint Technology Center, and the Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives (IBEA). Today all these organizations have become one large multidisciplinary genomic-focused organization.  One of the objectives of this institute is to create synthetic life that could help in problems that impact our socitey such as oil spill in the sea. Novel bacterial organisms could be created with new properties such as degrade oil and clear the environment.