NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – UK synthetic biology center SynbiCITE has awarded £50,000 ($62,805) to a collaboration between LGC and Desktop Genetics to develop screening and validation tools for functional genomics, cell line engineering, and synthetic bio.
Under the partnership, Desktop Genetics and LGC will develop a new pipeline for assessing the efficiency of CRISPR-based genome editing, including two PCR-based methods and one sequencing-based method for analyzing genomic DNA. Ultimately, the collaboration will produce a protocol for detecting and quantifying targeted mutations.
LGC and Desktop Genetics are providing another £12,500 and in-kind contributions for the project, John Collins, SynbiCITE commercial director, told GenomeWeb in an email.
"We have repeatedly seen demand for standardization in genome editing, and this project will improve our capability to offer top-of-the-line single and multiplex CRISPR experimental support and validation to labs around the world," Desktop Genetics CEO Riley Doyle said in a statement.
Carole Foy, principal scientist for LGC's molecular and cell biology group, added that the new quality control measures would save researchers in the genome engineering field both time and money.
LGC houses the UK's National Measurement Laboratory and Designated Institute for chemical and biological measurement. Desktop Genetics has been building a CRISPR editing analysis pipeline for scientists in both basic and applied research.
Meanwhile, earlier this year SynbiCITE partnered with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based synthetic oligonucleotide manufacturer Gen9 to increase access to gene synthesis technology.