- Multi-year JGI Director's Science programme pairs Bactobio's precision discovery engine with JGI genomics at scale, powering AI to discover entirely new classes of molecules
- Bactobio's platform goes beyond what genetic data can do alone, linking what microbes encode to what they do and the molecules they make: more than 4,000 new species so far, and new classes of effective molecules discovered 30x faster than traditional methods
- The collaboration closes the loop between genomic data and chemistry, giving researchers worldwide a foundational dataset and fuelling AI-guided discovery at the frontier
LONDON & BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bactobio, the company unlocking Earth's largest untapped source of chemistry, today announced a multi-year programme with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) to build the first ground-truth dataset linking the genes of previously unexplored bacteria to the molecules they make. Awarded through the JGI's Director's Science programme following peer review, the project will give researchers worldwide a foundational dataset for understanding these microbes from soil to chemistry, and lay the groundwork for AI to discover new classes of molecules for some of the world's most intractable challenges.
Microbes hold more genetic and chemical diversity than all other life combined: billions of years of evolution-optimised chemistry. The estimated 3% of microbial chemical classes discovered so far gave the world penicillin, streptomycin and ivermectin, along with many of the medicines and crop protection products it relies on today.
Bactobio is opening up the remaining 97%, making chemistry that was never accessible before available for discovery. Its discovery engine combines physical and virtual exploration: more than 4,000 species new to science, each profiled across genes, expression, chemistry and activity, and connected through AI. Because the platform runs on what microbes make and do, not just their DNA, Bactobio identifies impactful new chemistry at pace.
AI that discovers new chemistry needs ground truth, and for most of the microbial world it doesn't exist yet. This project builds it. The JGI will generate 4,800 transcriptomes across 80 species from 8 phyla and map where 100s of transcription factors bind, with Bactobio measuring the chemistry of every sample. Together, the data will show which gene clusters switch on during production and what they make, closing the loop from gene to molecule across very diverse species. Every species added makes the map of the microbial universe richer, and the next discovery faster.
For Bactobio, the project sharpens a platform already discovering molecules at an accelerating rate: effective, selective, and able to bypass existing resistance through novel mechanisms of action. The first targets are crop diseases that threaten global food supply; drug-resistant infections come next.
"Evolution has spent billions of years optimising chemistry, and almost none of it has been accessible to medicinal chemists, or to AI," said Mark Wilkinson, co-founder and CSO of Bactobio. "We are mining that evolution for entirely new classes of molecules that can transform markets with few options today. AI is massively accelerating discovery, but novel discovery needs data from biology that has never been measured."
"Our new JGI strategic plan, AI-Driven Genomics to Accelerate Biological Discovery, is centered on using AI to move from reading biology to predicting and designing biology for desired functions," said Nigel Mouncey, Director of the JGI. "Our project with Bactobio aligns with that focus, using AI to predict new chemistry across a vast, untapped part of the microbial world and turning fundamental biology into real-world impact."
About Bactobio
Bactobio unlocks Earth's largest untapped source of chemistry, the estimated 97% of microbial chemical classes still undiscovered, to solve global challenges. Combining physical and virtual exploration, it identifies the structure and effect of new molecules for crop protection and human health. Bactobio is headquartered in London. Follow on LinkedIn and learn more at bacto.bio.
About the JGI
The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, a DOE Office of Science User Facility located at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is committed to advancing genomics in support of DOE missions related to a predictive understanding of complex biological, earth, and environmental systems for energy and infrastructure security. The JGI provides an integrated environment in which data production, resource generation, and analysis tools are designed to support AI-driven discoveries.
DOE’s Office of Science is the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and works to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science/office-science.
Contacts
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