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Scientists announce comprehensive regional diagnostic of microbial ocean life using DNA testing
Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) used tools of genetics research akin to those used in genealogical research to evaluate the diversity of marine life off the California coast. Ceratium sp. dinoflagellates, imaged from seawater collected in waters offshore San Diego, that typify the California Current Ecosystems phytoplankton assemblage. Image courtesy...
J. Craig Venter Institute sells La Jolla laboratory building to UC San Diego
LA JOLLA, CA and ROCKVILLE, MD—April 28, 2022—The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), now in its thirtieth year, has sold its La Jolla laboratory building to the University of California San Diego for $25 million and five-year lease back of that building rent free. The transaction was completed in January 2022. The JCVI will continue to operate as an independent, not-for-profit research organization in both La Jolla, California and Rockville, Maryland. Scientists in both...
Genomic features of "Candidatus Venteria ishoeyi", a new sulfur-oxidizing macrobacterium from the Humboldt Sulfuretum off Chile.
The Humboldt Sulfuretum (HS), in the productive Humboldt Eastern Boundary Current Upwelling Ecosystem, extends under the hypoxic waters of the Peru-Chile Undercurrent (ca. 6°S and ca. 36°S). Studies show that primeval sulfuretums held diverse prokaryotic life, and, while rare today, still sustain species-rich giant sulfur-oxidizing bacterial communities. We here present the genomic features of a new bacteria of the HS, "Candidatus Venteria ishoeyi" ("Ca. V. ishoeyi") in the family...
Scientists develop most complete whole-cell computer simulation model of cell to date
LA JOLLA, CA—January 20, 2022—Scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, J. Craig Venter Institute, and Technische Universität Dresden have developed a computer model of the minimized synthetic cell, JCVI-syn3A, that accurately predicts the growth and molecular structure of its real-life analog. It is the most complete computer-simulated whole-cell model to date. The findings have been published in the journal Cell. The JCVI team has been doggedly pursuing knowledge...
Omicron and Beta variants evade antibodies elicited by vaccines and previous infections, but boosters help
ROCKVILLE, MD and LA JOLLA, CA—January 13, 2022—Scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute, along with collaborators, have shown that people who were infected with the original D614 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as those vaccinated with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, have significantly reduced protection against the Beta and Omicron variants as compared to the original D614 virus and Delta variant. While a third...
Minimal Cell Workshop
5th Minimal Cell Workshop The Minimal Cell Workshop virtual series is an annual event that brings together the worldwide community of researchers working with JCVI's minimized cell, JCVI-syn3.0 (or one of its variants). JCVI-syn3.0 is based on the naturally occurring Mycoplasma mycoides, but with roughly half as many genes. This model organism has proven to be a platform for exploring the first principles of life, a chassis for engineering, computational modeling, and more. Interested in...
Global Coral Reefs are in Peril
Scientists show that probiotics can help Rising global ocean temperatures are a major threat to coral reefs, but exciting new research published by J. Craig Venter Institute scientists and an international team of collaborators has brought us one step closer to finding a way to protect them by developing a new probiotic to act as a proactive therapeutic. Corals that were treated showed an increased survival rate of 40%. While these results are promising, the team needs your help to take...
JCVI Policy Center forecasts US likely to remain biotechnology leader through 2050, but China could threaten position
LA JOLLA, CA—July 28, 2021—The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) Policy Center has released a summary version of their report outlining the competitive landscape of biotechnology through 2050. The report uses nearly 100 indicators to build scoring around a nation’s capacity and potential to invent and produce biotechnology products over time. While they forecast that the United States will continue to lead the world in biotechnology ahead of China, it is by no means assured. “By 2050,...
Climate change and iron availability may drastically alter algae blooms in the Southern Ocean, trapping vast nutrients
LA JOLLA, CA—July 26, 2021—The Southern Ocean (SO) harbors some of the most intense phytoplankton blooms on Earth. Climate change models predict that average SO surface temperatures will rise from their current average of zero to four degrees Celsius by one to two degrees by 2100 and six degrees by 2300. Additionally, while there is considerable uncertainty regarding the impact of projected climate change on anticipated changes in iron availability, it is believed that iron availability...
Sequencing the Human Genome
The human genome is the complete set of genetic information, stored as DNA within the nucleus of nearly every one of the trillions of cells in the human body. Every person’s genome is different and is a large part of what makes us into unique individuals. The first effort to decode the human genome, considered a draft sequence, resulted in its publication in 2001. Six years later a high quality sequence—called a diploid genome—of a single individual was published, containing all genetic...