Agrigenomics Yields a Next-Gen Cornucopia

MedTech

Genome Project-write | October 18, 2021

GP-write’s CAD is a one-stop shop for microbe, plant and animal genome writing and redesign. Its automated workflow allows users to rapidly upload a genome, redesign it and synthesize the new sequence. The tool enables researchers to directly order synthetic DNA or related products and services from GP-write’s affiliated members. DNA Script’s SYNTAX System, a benchtop DNA printer powered by their groundbreaking enzymatic DNA synthesis (EDS) technology, enables users to print sequences designed on GP-write’s CAD tool right in their lab. The first-of-its-kind DNA printer expedites workflows, making DNA writing as simple and efficient as next-generation sequencing. DNA Script will host a roundtable at the GP-write 5.0 conference on October 22 at 12:30 p.m. ET to engage attendees in a discussion centered on biosecurity as it relates to emerging technologies, including GP-write’s new CAD tool and DNA Script’s SYNTAX System. “We’re pleased to join GP-write and their industrial partners to drive innovation on the forefront of DNA printing technologies. Just as NGS, or DNA 'read,' and CRISPR, or DNA 'edit,' have brought significant advances to research and clinical care, we believe the broad accessibility of synthetic DNA printing, or DNA 'write,' offered by our SYNTAX System will be equally transformative and power the next bio-revolution.” Thomas Ybert, co-founder and CEO of DNA Script GP-write President and General Counsel, Amy Cayne Schwartz, notes that the organizations are partnering to work toward realizing “a shared vision of a future where writing genomes is facile, democratized and safely accessible.” Schwartz explains that “this will open up new frontiers for development of novel therapeutics and solutions for environmental health.” About Genome Project-write GP-write, conceived as a sequel to the Human Genome Project, applies lessons learned from HGP to pursue scientific exploration fully integrated with the development of genome engineering technologies. The primary goal of the project is to drive dramatic cost reductions and expedite whole-genome writing and redesign over the next decade, empowering researchers to uncover complex biological behavior and reprogram organisms to address defining global challenges in medicine, biotechnology and environmental health. About DNA Script Founded in 2014, DNA Script is a pioneering life sciences technology company developing a new, faster, more powerful and versatile way to design and manufacture nucleic acids. The company has developed an alternative to traditional DNA synthesis called Enzymatic DNA Synthesis, or EDS, allowing this technology to be accessible to labs with the first benchtop enzymatic synthesis instrument, the SYNTAX System. By putting DNA synthesis back in the lab, DNA Script aims to transform life sciences research through innovative technology that gives researchers unprecedented control and autonomy.

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Technology Networks | November 25, 2019

Expansions of DNA repeats are very hard to analyze. A method developed by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin allows for a detailed look at these previously inaccessible regions of the genome. It combines nanopore sequencing, stem cell, and CRISPR-Cas technologies. The method could improve the diagnosis of various congenital diseases and cancers in the future. Large parts of the genome consist of monotonous regions where short sections of the genome repeat hundreds or thousands of times. But expansions of these "DNA repeats" in the wrong places can have dramatic consequences, like in patients with Fragile X syndrome, one of the most commonly identifiable hereditary causes of cognitive disability in humans. However, these repetitive regions are still regarded as an unknown territory that cannot be examined appropriately, even with modern methods. A research team led by Franz-Josef Müller at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin and the University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel recently shed light on this inaccessible region of the genome. Müller's team was the first to successfully determine the length of genomic tandem repeats in patient-derived stem cell cultures. The researchers additionally obtained data on the epigenetic state of the repeats by scanning individual DNA molecules. The method, which is based on nanopore sequencing and CRISPR-Cas technologies, opens the door for research into repetitive genomic regions, and the rapid and accurate diagnosis of a range of diseases.

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GEN | October 23, 2019

Synthego’s newest offering applies genome engineering in order to address a longtime challenge in research and drug development—the dearth of high-quality, physiologically relevant biological models needed for translational medicine. The provider of genome engineering products and services this week launched a genome engineering service for induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells—an expansion of automated cell editing capabilities that according to Synthego is designed to achieve extremely high editing efficiency of iPS cells at an industrial scale. Synthego reasons that iPS cells can provide one of the most reliable and accurate models for disease because they allow researchers to create patient-specific variations. Yet iPS cells created through the reprogramming of human adult cells have traditionally been difficult to handle and modify genetically. Synthego’s new offering of iPS cells includes modification by removal of gene function (knockout), single nucleotide variation, protein tagging and other knock-ins, all with the goal of enabling scientists to generate edits at a massive scale to accelerate research and disease modeling.

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