_Agricultural Genomics_ (Volume 3, Number 10) May 15, 2000 (Page 5) ISSN 1521-4222 http://www.aggenomics.com

Dragon Genomics Sets Strategies for Sequencing Ag and Marine Genomes

KYOTO, Japan -- Dragon Genomics Center, the newly announced $57 million division of Takara Shuzo, a diversified brewing, foods, and biomedical company here, is laying out its genome sequencing strategy in advance of its official opening later this year. It remains to be seen whether Dragon can follow through on its promise to rival Celera Genomics in sequencing capacity.

Dragon will do high-speed genome analysis for its parent company, as well as take in work from Japanese and other companies. Of Dragon's own saline and agricultural work, an official in Takara's biotechnology division, Takara Biomedical Group, told _AG_, "We are now in a planning phase to choose target organisms to be sequenced and have not decided on particular targets for marine and ag areas yet."

Takara Shuzo plans to dedicate 20 percent of Dragon's capacity to marine biotechnology. The parent company said it is interested in sequencing marine microorganisms because they include many useful species that, for example, can produce hydrogen or degrade chemicals of environmental pollution. Dragon will seek patent rights on genes coding for proteins with novel, useful functions through genome analysis of marine organisms.

Takara has said that it will spend 6 million yen ($57 million) to found Dragon. The new unit will use gene analyzers from Shimadzu, which claimed its sequencers could process 230,000 bases from 384 genome samples simultaneously, while competing machines can process only up to 52,000 bases. Relying on that equipment and high-throughput genome analysis from Nucleics of Sydney, Australia, Dragon claimed it will have greater gene-mapping capabilities than Celera has. As it creates the new operation, Takara will double the size of its DNA lab in China, which will provide DNA samples to be analyzed at Dragon.

Takara Biomedical Group has announced plans to expand its genome analysis capacity to compete with western companies. It maintained that Asian companies have an as-yet-unmet demand for such services. Takara, known for potable alcohol and fermentation technology, launched its Biomedical Group with the first product release of restriction enzyme to the market in 1979. The publicly held parent company was established in 1925.

"Dragon Genomics itself will intensify its genomics activity," said the Takara official. "Takara Biomedical Group will continue its current projects including DNA chips, gene therapy and antibiotics development. Dragon Genomics will be closely linked to Takara Biomedical Group and will support its projects." Dragon will not compete for human genome work, although the Biomedical Group has researched autoimmunity and other aspects of human biochemical deficiencies.

Ag-related research published by the Biomedical Group includes studies on _Pyrococcus furiosus_, a microbe that grows well at very high temperatures; Asparaginyl endopeptidase in developing and germinating legume seed; horseshoe crab hemocytes; and _Escherichia coli_ with SP6 RNA polymerase. The division has also published on Sse83871, an eight-base cutter for mammalian genome analysis; Legumain (Asparaginyl endopeptidase) in developing and germinating leguminous seeds; alternative splicing of bovine terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase cDNA; and the purification and properties of the asparagine-specific endopeptidase from jack beans.

Other Takara microbial studies have included a resistance gene isolated from _Aspergillus_; prototrophic industrial yeasts using the AUR1 gene as a dominant selection marker; aureobasidin A, a cyclic depsipeptide antifungal antibiotic; and AUR1, a novel gene conferring aureobasidin resistance on _Saccharomyces cerevisiae_. Aldecalmycin, a new antimicrobial antibiotic from _Streptomyces_, and Dethymycin, a novel immunosuppressant isolated from an amycolatopsis, have also been researched.

--Sandra Katzman, contributing editor, _Agricultural Genomics_

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Contact Sandra Katzman , a free-lance writer in Yokohama, Japan.