Strain And Organism Development.

“If you want a domestic animal that must first swim on water and then fly across continents, do not start with a chicken.” —Oliver Yu, CEO

Microorganisms like E. coli or baker’s yeast have been the workhorses of industrial microbiology for decades.  However, as the demand for newer and more challenging molecules rises, modern synthetic biology tools and bio-based production platforms have to be developed. We start every project with the end in mind. For this reason, Conagen has more than 14 different platform organisms for microbial strain development, each with its own proprietary set of tools, automated systems, and fermentation techniques.

Our philosophy stems from the fact that no single organism will be the best at producing every single molecule. Therefore, when we or our partners identify a new molecule with commercial value, we can choose the platform organisms which come closest to making it naturally.  This gives us greater access to broader biological possibilities, ensuring that the strains we create will be the best at what they do.

When developing strains that are new to science, novel tools must be purpose-built for the metabolic pathways to be engineered. Unique fermentation processes must be invented and new automation systems must be designed to work with the distinctive biology of the new strain.  Conagen is continually expanding our proprietary collection of robust, domesticated microbes for industrial fermentation of renewable and sustainable bio-products.