In July 2009, ExxonMobil announced a US$300-million investment in Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI). The deal partners the oil giant with one of the most successful—and controversial—teams in genomics research. SGI was founded in 2005 by J. Craig Venter, who led a privately funded team that in 2000 was the first to map the entire human genome. Venter’s team narrowly beat out a $3-billion National Institute of Health (NIH) effort, and Dr. Hamilton O Smith, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1978 for discovery of type II restriction enzymes.
Synthetic Genomics proposes to design, synthesize and assemble synthetic microorganisms that can be used in a variety of applications, from fuels to chemicals to vaccines to disease-resistant crops.
In 2008, SGI’s affiliate, the J. Craig Venter Institute (founded in 2006), announced it had succeeded in reproducing the DNA of simple bacteria, Mycoplasma genatelium, which causes sexually transmitted diseases but, more importantly from the researcher’s viewpoint, is one of the least complex DNA structures with just 580 genes.
Venter is regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 21st century for his invaluable contributions in genomic research, most notably the first sequencing and analysis of the human genome, published in 2001, and the most recent and most complete sequencing of his diploid human genome, in 2007.
Venter and Smith set up SGI in 2005 as a privately held company based in La Jolla, Calif. The goal of SGI in the energy sector is nothing short of “replacing the entire petrochemical industry,” Venter said in interview with Ethanol & Biofuels News (EBN).
The 6.5 billion people currently on the planet will increase to some 9 billion by 2050, he said, making the provision of sufficient food, water and fuel even more difficult.
The contract with ExxonMobil is one of several energy-related projects at SGI. This past summer, the partners opened a greenhouse facility to allow them to take the next steps in researching and testing their algae biofuels program. They will use the facility to test whether large-scale quantities of affordable fuel can be produced from algae. The next major milestone, expected in mid-2011, will involve opening of an outdoor test facility. If the research and development milestones are net, ExxonMobil expects to spend more than $600 million on the algae biofuels program over the next decade, with $300 million of that allocated to SGI.
“The greenhouse is the next important step in our alliance as we comprehensively explore algae as a source of renewable biofuels. The team has already made great strides in evaluating various strains and growth conditions for algae and we are eager to continue and expand this important research as we plan for the next stages of scale up,” said Venter. The program is testing the hypothesis that algae biofuels could be economic and a viable low-net-carbon-emission transportation fuel.
The company is also working with BP “to develop and commercialize microbial-enhanced solutions to increase the conversion and recovery of subsurface hydrocarbons,” according to EBN. SGI, along with the Asiatic Center for Genome Technology, has also sequenced the genome of jatropha and palm plants, which are used in biofuel production.
Venter and his teams have sequenced more than 300 organisms, including human, fruit fly, mouse, rat and dog, as well as numerous microorganisms and plants. He has authored more than 200 research articles and is among the most cited scientists in the world.
The scientists served a tour of duty as a Navy Corpsman in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, and after earning both a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a PhD in physiology and pharmacology from the University of California at San Diego, he was appointed professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
He is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, public honors, and scientific awards, including the 2001 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, and the 2002 Gairdner Foundation International Award. Venter is a member of numerous prestigious scientific organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Society for Microbiology.
—Louise Poirier