The "Bacterial Genome Architect Project (BGA Project)", which promotes the construction of the genome of industrial microorganisms, has been started by Tokyo Institute of Technology and Logomix Co., Ltd., a venture company originating from the same university.This project is the first industry-academia synthetic biology project in Japan that aims to construct the genome of a specific species, and a total of seven companies including Yamato Science Co., Ltd. and Dentsu Inc. participate from the industry.In addition, as a technical advisor, Professor Jef Boeke, director of the Institute of Genetic Systems, University of New York, is one of the leading experts in microbial research at home and abroad.
Genome construction is a technology that generates a genome from scratch, rather than changing part of the genetic information as in the past "genome editing", which dramatically advances innovation in various fields. It is expected to expand.The bioeconomy industry, whose core is genome construction, is expected to grow into a huge market of 2030% (about 2.7 trillion yen) of the total GDP of OECD member countries by 180.
In this project, as the first step, we will start the construction of an artificial genome of Escherichia coli, which is used for the production of various substances such as plastics, medicines and fuels and is one of the representative species of industrial microorganisms.In order to further enhance the industrial usefulness of E. coli, we will construct an E. coli genome based on a new design principle that has never existed before, and aim to create an artificial E. coli strain that grows on this artificial genome.
Through this project, exploration of new business seeds in the synthetic biology industry, construction of industry-academia collaboration networks between various industrial sectors beyond the scope of bio and non-bio, and maturation of cell genome construction technology that contributes to the creation of new bio industry. Wide-ranging progress is expected.
