In September 2021, Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI), a private company located in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

, California, changed its name to Viridos. The company is focused on the field of

synthetic biology Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a multidisciplinary area of research that seeks to create new biological parts, devices, and systems, or to redesign systems that are already found in nature. It is a branch of science that encompasses a broad ran ...

, especially harnessing photosynthesis with micro algae to create alternatives to fossil fuels. Viridos designs and builds biological systems to address

global Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

sustainability problems.

Synthetic biology Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a multidisciplinary area of research that seeks to create new biological parts, devices, and systems, or to redesign systems that are already found in nature. It is a branch of science that encompasses a broad ran ...

is an interdisciplinary branch of

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and engineering, combining fields such as

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes ( natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life ...

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

, systems biology,

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

, computer engineering, and genetic engineering. Synthetic Genomics uses techniques such as

software engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...

bioprocessing Bioprocess engineering, also biochemical engineering, is a specialization of chemical engineering or biological engineering. It deals with the design and development of equipment and processes for the manufacturing of products such as agriculture, ...

, bioinformatics, biodiscovery,

analytical chemistry Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

, fermentation, cell

optimization Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criterion, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfi ...

, and

DNA synthesis DNA synthesis is the natural or artificial creation of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules. DNA is a macromolecule made up of nucleotide units, which are linked by covalent bonds and hydrogen bonds, in a repeating structure. DNA synthesis occurs ...

to design and build biological systems. The company produces or performs research in the fields of sustainable bio-fuels, insect resistant crops, transplantable organs, targeted medicines, DNA synthesis

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

as well as a number of biological

reagents In chemistry, a reagent ( ) or analytical reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or test if one occurs. The terms ''reactant'' and ''reagent'' are often used interchangeably, but reactant specifies a ...

Core markets

SGI mainly operates in three end markets: research, bioproduction and applied products. The

research Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

segment focuses on genomics solutions for academic and commercial research organizations. The commercial products and services include

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

services, and bioinformatics services and

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

. In 2015, the company launched the BioXP 3200 system, a fully automated benchtop instrument that produces DNA fragments from many different sources for genomic data. The company's efforts in bio-based production are intended to improve both existing production

hosts A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman *Michel Host ( ...

and develop entirely new synthetic production hosts with the goal of more efficient routes to

bioproducts Bioproducts or bio-based products are materials, chemicals and energy derived from renewable biological resources. Bioresources Biological resources include agriculture, forestry, and biologically-derived waste, and there are many other renewable ...

. SGI has a number of commercial as well as research and development stage programs across a variety of industries. Some of these research partnerships include:

History

Synthetic Genomics was founded in the spring of 2005 by J. Craig Venter, Nobel Laureate Hamilton O. Smith, Juan Enriquez, and David Kiernan. Venter (and Smith)'s previous company,

Celera Genomics Celera is a subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics which focuses on genetic sequencing and related technologies. It was founded in 1998 as a business unit of Applera, spun off into an independent company in 2008, and finally acquired by Quest Diagnost ...

, was a driving force in the race to sequence the

human genome The human genome is a complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans, encoded as DNA within the 23 chromosome pairs in cell nuclei and in a small DNA molecule found within individual mitochondria. These are usually treated separately as the ...

. The firm takes its name from the phrase synthetic genomics which is a scientific discipline of

related to the generation of organisms artificially using genetic material. Many of SGI's collaborations have been with energy companies. In 2007, SGI worked with BP to commercialize microbial-based processes for increasing the conversion and recovery of subsurface hydrocarbons. In 2009, SGI received funding from ExxonMobil to produce biofuels on an industrial-scale using recombinant algae and other microorganisms. The company purchased an 81 acre site in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

Imperial valley , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

to produce

algae fuel Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Also, algae fuels are an alternative to commonly known biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane. When made fr ...

for their collaboration with Exxon Mobil. They also signed a collaborative agreement with

New England Biolabs New England Biolabs (NEB) produces and supplies recombinant and native enzyme reagents for the life science research, as well as providing products and services supporting genome editing, synthetic biology and next-generation sequencing. NEB al ...

to Launch Gibson Assembly Master Mix Product for Synthetic and Molecular Biology Applications in 2012. In 2010, Synthetic Genomics spun off a new subsidiary, Synthetic Genomics Vaccines Inc., to develop next generation

vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.< ...

In 2014 SGI expanded into the field of

organ transplantation Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transpor ...

with a collaborative agreement with

United Therapeutics United Therapeutics Corporation is an American publicly-traded biotechnology company listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol UTHR. It develops novel, life-extending technologies for patients in the areas of lung disease and organ manufacturing. Un ...

valued at $50M and brought in Oliver Fetzer as CEO.Union Tribune Article
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References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.syntheticgenomics.com/ Algae biomass producers Biotechnology companies of the United States Genetic engineering Genomics companies Synthetic biology