About Synthetic Genomics

"Work in creating a synthetic chromosome/genome will give us a better understanding of basic cellular processes. Genome composition, regulatory circuits, signaling pathways and numerous other aspects of organism gene and protein function will be better understood through construction of a synthetic genome. Not only will this basic research lead to better understanding of these pathways and components in the particular organisms, but also better understanding of human biology. The ability to construct synthetic genomes may lead to extraordinary advances in our ability to engineer microorganisms for many vital energy and environmental purposes."
- J. Craig Venter, 2003

The Genesis of the Company

In the mid 1990’s Drs. Venter and Smith in collaboration with Dr. Hutchison, began work at The Institute for Genomic Research, (now the J. Craig Venter Institute), on what was termed the “minimal genome project.” The research centered on the very small genome of Mycoplasma genitalium, a bacterium that primarily causes urinary tract infections in humans. With only 517 genes, the research team led by Dr. Hutchison surmised that perhaps they could ascertain which of these were essential to sustain the life of the organism. After using a technique pioneered by Dr. Hutchison called global transposon mutagenesis, the team was able to knock out non-essential genes and get to a core set of 265 to 350 genes that were needed to sustain life. However, most of those genes were of unknown function. The results were tantalizing both for what was learned and for how much still remained to be learned. In 2002, Dr. Venter established a new organization with a synthetic genomics and biological energy group, led by Dr. Smith at the J. Craig Venter Institute, to continue this and other follow-on research. Since then, scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute have made significant progress in building synthetic chromosomes. In 2003, they successfully built in vitro a fully synthetic PhiX174 chromosome in just two weeks. This substantial scientific breakthrough was a proof of concept that gave the team encouragement to pursue this work in a commercial setting and led to the founding of Synthetic Genomics in spring of 2005.