Cellectis to facilitate advances in biofuel making via genom engineering

Jun 27, 2013 - French firm Cellectis (EPA:ALCLS) has managed to genetically reprogram diatoms, using its engineered nucleases, thus paving the way for new options for biofuel production from photosynthesis and carbon dioxide.

The genome engineering specialist said Wednesday it had engineered the genome of photosynthetic algae “with a view to producing biofuels”. It has generated a lipid-rich diatom and expects to unveil new opportunities in synthetic biology and especially biofuel production involving photosynthesis.

Cellectis is involved in the development and production of engineered site-specific endonucleases, which it defines as the most powerful approach in genome engineering. By targeting specific sequences within diatoms’ genome, these nucleases can be used to accurately insert, correct, or inactivate specific genes, it explained.

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