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J. Craig Venter Institute-led Team Awarded 5-year, $10.7 M Grant from U.S. Department of Energy to Optimize Metabolic Networks in Diatoms, Enabling Next-Generation Biofuels and Bioproducts
(LA JOLLA, CA)—October 3, 2017—Scientists, led by the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a not-for-profit genomic research organization, were recently awarded a 5-year, $10.7 million grant by the United States Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research (BER), BER Genomic Science Program to optimize metabolic networks in model photosynthetic microalgae, called diatoms. The aim of this work is to substantially increase oil, or lipid production, enabling...
Scientists from J. Craig Venter Institute and Scripps Institution of Oceanography Publish Study Describing Function and Mechanisms of Diatom Centromeres
(SAN DIEGO, CA)—July 6, 2017—A research team from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego have published a paper today describing the DNA sequences from the centromeres of a type of microalgae, called diatoms. The research by first author Scripps Oceanography’s Rachel E. Diner, and senior author JCVI’s Philip D. Weyman, Ph.D., was published in the journal Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences...
JCVI President, Karen Nelson Elected to National Academy of Sciences
(LA JOLLA, CA)—May 3, 2017—The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) announced today that Karen E. Nelson, Institute President and Head of Microbiome Research, has been elected as a new member to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Nelson was one of the 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Those elected today bring the total number of active members to 2,290 and the total number of foreign...
Battling Infectious Diseases with 3-D Structures
(CHICAGO) April 25, 2017 — An international team of scientists led by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has determined the 3-D atomic structure of more than 1,000 proteins that are potential drug and vaccine targets to combat some of the world’s most dangerous emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. These experimentally determined structures have been deposited into the World-Wide Protein Data Bank, an archive supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH),...
Teams at Venter Institute and Synthetic Genomics, Inc. Successfully Engineer 16S rRNA using One Step Process Combining CRISPR/Cas9 Systems and Yeast Recombination Machinery
(LA JOLLA, CA)—August 4, 2016—Researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and Synthetic Genomics, Inc. (SGI) have published research describing a method for engineering Mycoplasma mycoides 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) using a one-step process that combines CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system with yeast recombination machinery. The rRNAs are some of the most conserved genes in all branches of life and thus are used to trace evolutionary history. While they are fundamental to the process...
J. Craig Venter Institute and University of California San Diego Release New Report: “Policy and Regulatory Issues for Gene Drives in Insects,” to Aid Scientists, Regulators and Others in Approaches to Safely Advance this Promising Area of Science
(LA JOLLA, CA)—August 2, 2016—The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) Policy Group and researchers at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), today released a new report titled, “Policy and Regulatory Issues for Gene Drives in Insects”. The report outlines specific suggestions for researchers and research funders, United States regulators and policymakers, and international organizations, that could help advance this promising new scientific approach for combatting insect...
Human Vaccines Project Launches San Diego Research Hub with UC San Diego, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla Institute, The Scripps Research Institute
Four scientific institutions – University of California, San Diego, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology and The Scripps Research Institute – have teamed up to create the “Mesa Consortium,” a new scientific hub for the Human Vaccines Project. Under a collaborative agreement, the Mesa Consortium and the Human Vaccine Project aim to transform current understanding of the human immune system and expedite development of vaccines and biologics to...
First Minimal Synthetic Bacterial Cell Designed and Constructed by Scientists at Venter Institute and Synthetic Genomics, Inc.
(LA JOLLA, CA)—March 24, 2016—Researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and Synthetic Genomics, Inc. (SGI) announced today the design and construction of the first minimal synthetic bacterial cell, JCVI-syn3.0. Using the first synthetic cell, Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0 (created by this same team in 2010), JCVI-syn3.0 was developed through a design, build, and test process using genes from JCVI-syn1.0. The new minimal synthetic cell contains 531,560 base pairs and just...
Venter Institute, International Team of Researchers Publish Paper Outlining Key Genes in Toxoplasma gondii Strains that Contribute to Virulence
(LA JOLLA, CA)—February 11, 2016—The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) researcher Hernan Lorenzi, Ph.D., in collaboration with L. David Sibley, Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine, and a team of international researchers have published a paper outlining key genetic differences in strains of Toxoplasma gondii which shed light into the biological and virulence differences between T. gondii strains and between other closely related parasites. The paper, published January 7th in...
J. Craig Venter Institute Policy Group Releases New Report: “DNA Synthesis and Biosecurity: Lessons Learned and Options for the Future”
(LA JOLLA, CA)—October 29, 2015—The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) policy group today released a new report titled, “DNA Synthesis and Biosecurity: Lessons Learned and Options for the Future,” which reviews how well the Department of Health and Human Services guidance for synthetic biology providers has worked since it was issued in 2010. Synthetic biology promises great scientific advances, but it also has the potential to pose unique biosecurity threats. It now is easier than...