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… has been head of the DNA Synthesis Science Program since 2015. The mission of this program is to harness the power of DNA synthesis, strain engineering, and biosystems design for DOE-mission-relevant … to learn more about the program's areas of focus, major initiatives and more.  …

… Researchers looked across many organisms to see that aminotransferase enzymes have evolved mix-and-match … This analysis led them to identify 2,938 putative AT  genes. Within the AT genes identified across different species, each organism has …

… develop a tool to quickly and accurately identify mobile genetic elements like plasmids and viruses. The Science Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) are genetic entities that seek to … forms of MGEs are viruses and plasmids. They can be found in virtually all of Earth’s ecosystems. A software tool  …

… Meta-omics datasets show that CRISPR-Cas systems determine mutualism or parasitism between some archaeal hosts and … Then, using metagenomes and metatranscriptomes generated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint … genomes, they found a huge variety of CRISPR-Cas systems. Generally, prokaryotes use CRISPR-Cas systems to recognize …

… Understanding how a fundamental mechanism of evolution allows microbes … that had in their genomes a surprising tool: a “diversity generating retroelement,” or DGR. The DGR could mutate the … but also surprisingly active. In viruses, DGRs appear to generate diversity quickly, allowing these viruses to target …