Cellulosic ethanol company licenses genome tool

TMO Renewables, a U.K.-based company pursuing ethanol from biomass, has licensed the ERGO bioinformatics software from Integrated Genomics of Chicago.

TMO plans to use the ERGO genome analysis tool for gene annotation, metabolic reconstruction and enzyme data-mining as well as comparative genomics. 

“We believe we have developed uniquely talented high-temperature process organisms capable of producing bioethanol quickly and efficiently from a wide diversity of sustainable cellulosic feedstocks. The ERGO™ platform will enable us to further understand and exploit our thermophilic strains to their fullest potential to deliver the next generation of green biofuels,” said Steven Martin, associate R & D director at TMO.

Optimized for analysis of microorganisms, ERGO integrates biological data from genomics, biochemistry, gene expression studies, genetics and literature.

Reaching beyond conventional systems for functional analysis by DNA sequence alone, Integrated Genomics' platform combines pattern-based analyses with a repertoire of comparative genomics tools for gene visualization in the contexts of regulation, expression data, phylogeny, chromosomal neighborhoods and gene fusions, the company said.

ERGO contains more than 1180 genomes at various stages of completion, as well as the largest available collection of networked cellular pathways, its maker claims.

Integrated Genomics is a provider of bioinformatics products and services for the life sciences industry. The company’s expertise in microbial genomics includes genome sequencing, comparative genomics and custom bioinformatics applications.

TMO Renewables' cellulosic process is capable of utilizing all of the sugars, including complex longer chain forms, derived from biomass, the company says. Its high temperature process is capable of producing fuel ethanol at high efficiency and high conversion rates, it claims.

TMO intends to build the U.K.’s first cellulosic ethanol process demonstration unit this year.

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