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The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) awarded £1.9M to establish a DNA synthesis facility at the Norwich Research Park


Norwich, United Kingdom
April 2, 2014

TGAC has been selected as one of only five centres across the UK to develop a state-of-the-art DNA synthesis centre in Norwich. The facility aims to support the design, generation and exploitation of high-value compounds and bioactives obtained from plants and microbes to contribute to areas of strength within the NRP. Recent advances in DNA technologies have stimulated the development of innovative research in synthetic biology. The investment announced today will equip the NRP with the cutting-edge technology in DNA synthesis that will build on the existing National Capability in Genomics at TGAC and help to propel the UK to the forefront of synthetic biology research.

Synthetic biology has been identified as one of the “Eight Great Technologies” in which the UK can be a world leader. Synthetic biology involves the design and construction of novel biological building blocks. One of the biggest challenges is the creation and assembly of complex constructs, which could be expensive and difficult to reproduce. The engineering of specific compounds and the ability to screen for the effect of the diversity will complement the well-established DNA sequencing platform and bioinformatics expertise at TGAC. DNA synthesis is innovative activity, offering much opportunity to directly benefit the NRP and the wider UK community.

The focus of the facility will be on the construction of long DNA fragments including whole plasmid-like genomes and the generation of recombinant libraries that could be used for high-throughput screening of advantageous phenotypes. Using DNA synthesis rather than recombinant DNA technology enables optimised constructs, either to increase efficiency within an organism or to move pathways into suitable organisms for industrial biotechnology. The centre’s activities will be focused around areas of application that are priority for the NRP such as research in antibiotic resistance, the improvement of bioreactors or the application of genome editing tools.

Director at TGAC, Mario Caccamo, said: “We are very excited at the announcement today. TGAC expertise in DNA sequencing and computational biology will be complemented by the development of this facility. The opportunities for the NRP emerging from this investment will help to develop the the park as world leaders in genomics technologies. The application of DNA synthesis, rightly recognised as a priority for the UK, will revolutionise the way we have been working in life sciences.”

Professor Anne Osbourne, director of the Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy Alliance at the NRP, said: “This is excellent news for the NRP. A state of the art DNA synthesis facility here in Norwich will bring new dimensions to our ability to innovate in the synthetic biology arena through our recently funded multidisciplinary Synthetic Biology Research Centre OpenPlant (led by the University of Cambridge and the John Innes Centre), which will develop new foundational tools and parts for plant synthetic biology and will directly contribute to the engineering of new crop traits. TGAC’s DNA synthesis facility will also underpin and enable NRP research on antimicrobial compounds, drugs and other high value chemicals from microbes and plants.’



More news from: Earlham Institute


Website: http://www.earlham.ac.uk

Published: April 2, 2014

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