NEW YORK, Feb 21 – Celera and Diversa said Wednesday they have sequenced the genome of Streptomyces diversa , a proprietary strain of Streptomyces bacteria that belongs to the group of microorganisms that produce most antibiotics.
The companies began sequencing this genome under a multi-year, cross-royalty agreement announced in December 2000, in which the two will collaborate to sequence the genomes of different microorganisms in Diversa’s Pathway Llbraries.
Diversa hopes to use the full sequence of S. diversa along with the technologies that permit gene expression analysis of the organism to produce novel drug candidates.
Diversa uses the S. diversa with DNA from its Pathway Libraries, which are made up of DNA that has been extracted from different microorganisms in the environment. The company introduces gene pathways from these libraries into its proprietary microorganism and screens the products for potential pharmaceutical value.
S. diversa is among hundreds of microorganisms that have been sequenced in private and public efforts. In the past ten years, 37 microbial genomes have been sequenced, and 128 microbial genome projects are currently in progress, according to Sandra Clifton of Washington University, St. Louis, who has sequenced the Salmonella typhimurium recently.
Diversa sequenced the genome of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Aquifex aeolicus using its own sequencers, but now has access to the 300 sequencers at Celera’s facility. The companies plan to sequence other genomes in Diversa’s library.