ATUM
TypePrivate
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded2003
FoundersSridhar Govindarajan, Claes Gustafsson, Jeremy Minshull, Jon Ness
Headquarters,
ProductsArtificial gene synthesis, protein engineering, protein production, bioinformatics, cell line development, transposases

ATUM is an American biotechnology company. ATUM provides tools for the design and synthesis of optimized DNA, as well as protein production and GMP cell line development.

The company

ATUM (formerly DNA2.0) was founded in 2003, in Menlo Park, California. The company is privately held[1] and continues to have all research, development and production in California, currently in their 50,000 sq ft Newark facility.[2] It began and continues as a gene synthesis and protein engineering provider to academia, government and the pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and biotechnology industries. Gene synthesis rapidly replaced molecular cloning for many academic and corporate labs, as "foundries for the biotechnology age" allowing made-to-order genes for biological research.[3]

DNA2.0 was featured on the PBS show Nova ScienceNow[4] to show how genes are created synthetically in a lab. In 2008, the company supplied some of the DNA stretches used to create a synthetic bacterial genome.[5]

Dan Rather Reports included DNA2.0 in their episode on synthetic biology[6] and how the field is solving "some of the most important problems facing the world."[6]

In 2009, The Scientist named the codon design algorithms[7] (now trademarked as GeneGPS) developed by DNA2.0 as one of the "Top 10 Innovations" of the year for life sciences.[8] ATUM developed the Electra Vector System, a universal cloning system that utilizes the type IIS restriction enzyme SapI and T4 DNA ligase in a single-tube reaction.[9] ATUM has made some molecular components, such as synthetic fluorescent proteins, available in open-access collections of DNA parts (BioBricks Foundation).[10] Atum is a founding member of the International Gene Synthesis Consortium (IGSC) to promote biosecurity in the gene-synthesis industry.[11][12] There are over 1,200[13] published scientific articles using DNA2.0 products and/or services, of which 44[14] include company employees as authors.

Research tools

Partnerships

  • The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania will use the GeneGPS technology developed by ATUM primarily to support the Gene Therapy Program’s work on HIV-1 vaccine development by optimizing in vivo protein expression.[20][21]
  • The Infection and Immunity Research Centre at St. George’s, University of London and Atum partnered to develop plant-based pharmaceuticals.[22]
  • Adimab LLC. and ATUM employ an alliance in the area of antibody discovery and biomanufacturing via the design and construction of antibody libraries.
  • Cytovance Biologics utilizes GeneGPS from ATUM as part of their Keystone Expression System for microbial strain development for successful biomanufacturing.
  • Archer Daniels Midland Company applies ATUM's proprietary protein engineering technology, ProteinGPS, to ADM’s industrial enzyme engineering processes.[23]
  • ATUM is a sponsor of BioBuilder, a resource for hands-on activities and informative animations on synthetic biology for middle school and high school students and teachers; founded by Dr. Natalie Kuldell at MIT.

References

  1. Duan, Mary (October 18, 2009). "Gene synthesis: It's no strain for DNA 2.0". Silicon Valley Business Journal. San Jose, CA.
  2. "DNA2.0 Builds State of the Art Bioproduction Facility in Newark, California". MercuryNews.com. The San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  3. Pollack (September 12, 2007). "How Do You Like Your Genes? Biofabs Take Orders". The New York Times. New York.
  4. "Artificial Life". Nova ScienceNow. October 18, 2005. PBS.
  5. Pollack (January 24, 2008). "Scientists Take New Step Toward Man-Made Life". The New York Times. New York.
  6. 1 2 "Cutting Edge". Dan Rather Reports. April 30, 2013. AXS TV.
  7. Welch; Govindarajan; Ness; Villalobos; Gurney; Minshull; Gustafsson (September 14, 2009). "Design parameters to control synthetic gene expression in Escherichia coli". PLOS ONE. 4 (9): e7002. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007002. PMC 2736378. PMID 19759823.
  8. "2009 Top 10 Innovations". The Scientist. 23 (12): 41–52. December 1, 2009.
  9. Whitman; Gore; Ness; Theodorou; Minshull (June 2013), "Rapid, Scarless Cloning of Gene Fragments Using SapI, T4 DNA Ligase and the DNA2.0 Electra Vector System" (PDF), NEB Expressions, II: 8
  10. Ledford, Heidi (July 4, 2013). "Bioengineers Look Beyond Patents". Nature. Macmillan Publishers Limited. 499 (7456): 16–17. doi:10.1038/499016a. PMID 23823774.
  11. Hayden, Erika Check (November 18, 2009). "Gene-makers form security coalition". Nature. doi:10.1038/news.2009.1095.
  12. "Gene-Synthesis Firms Set Up Biosecurity Protocol", Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, November 18, 2009
  13. "Literature Database Search All". April 29, 2016.
  14. "Literature Database Search Author Affiliation:DNA2.0". April 29, 2016.
  15. Villalobos, Alan; Ness, Jon E; Gustafsson, Claes; Minshull, Jeremy; Govindarajan, Sridhar (2006). "Gene Designer: A synthetic biology tool for constructing artificial DNA segments". BMC Bioinformatics. 7: 285. doi:10.1186/1471-2105-7-285. PMC 1523223. PMID 16756672.
  16. Villalobos, Alan; Welch, Mark; Minshull, Jeremy (2012). "In Silico Design of Functional DNA Constructs". Gene Synthesis. Methods in Molecular Biology. Vol. 852. pp. 197–213. doi:10.1007/978-1-61779-564-0_15. ISBN 978-1-61779-563-3. PMID 22328435.
  17. Welch, M; Villalobos, A; Gustafsson, C; Minshull, J (2011). Designing genes for successful protein expression. Methods in Enzymology. Vol. 498. pp. 43–66. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-385120-8.00003-6. ISBN 9780123851208. PMID 21601673.
  18. Dance, Amber (July 1, 2012). "Mover Over, Mother Nature". The Scientist.
  19. "Best of the Web". Genetic Engineering News. April 15, 2007.
  20. "Optimizing Gene Expression with DNA2.0 Technology". GEN. November 14, 2012.
  21. McEnery, Regina (February 4, 2013), "Delivering the DNA", VAX: The Bulletin on AIDS Vaccine Research, 11 (1), archived from the original on November 29, 2014, retrieved November 19, 2014
  22. Cohen, Bryan (December 24, 2013). "DNA2.0 Announces Biopharmaceutical Partnership with St. George's". Vaccine News.
  23. "ADM and DNA2.0 Enter Into Protein Engineering Technology Access and Service Agreement". San Jose Mercury News. San Jose, CA. November 17, 2014.
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