S112: Developing a portfolio of enzyme products from extreme environments

Microbes are capable of growth in a variety of environments and conditions, and the stable and active enzymes of microbes growing at the extremes of pH and temperature can have applications in industrial applications.   However, the overwhelming majority of all bacteria remain uncultivated, limiting access to this vast potential for industrial enzymes.   Verenium has culture-independent methods that enable bioprospecting from a wide range of biotopes on the planet.  This unique access to genetic material has resulted in the discovery of genes and proteins from both cultivable and uncultivable microbial species.  Verenium also has directed evolution technologies to then optimize these novel enzymes for commercial applications.  Both the discovery and the evolution programs depend on Verenium’s in-house ultra high through screening capabilities that allow for screening greater than 1 billion samples per day. Several case studies will be presented that illustrate how Verenium’s proprietary discovery and evolution technologies have generated differentiated enzyme products that target unmet industrial needs.