In this elegant research vessel, Craig Venter set sail around the world to shotgun sequence the millions of viruses and bacteria in every spoonful of seawater. From the first five ocean samples, this team grew the number of known genes on the planet by 10x and the number of genes involved in solar energy conversion by 100x. The ocean microorganisms have evolved over a longer period of time and have pathways that are more efficient than photosynthesis.
Another discovery: every 200 miles across the open ocean, the microbial genes are up to 85% different. The oceans are not homogenous masses. They consist of myriad uncharted regions of ecological diversity… and the world’s largest genetic database.
From the collection of digital genomes, we are learning to decode and reprogram the information systems of biology. Like computer hackers, we can leverage a prior library of evolved code, assemblers and subsystems. Many of the radical applications lie outside of medicine.
At the Venter Institute, Craig Venter and Hamilton Smith are leading the Minimal Genome Project. They take the Mycoplasma genitalium from the human urogenital tract, and strip out 200 unnecessary genes, thereby creating a simple synthetic organism that can self-replicate (at about 300 genes). They plan to layer new functionality on to this artificial genome, by splicing cassettes of novel genes discovered in the oceans for energy conversion from sunlight. These synthetic cells have could be used for a variety of materials or energy applications, for example, to generate biofuels from the sun’s energy.
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