The Blount Lab
We use synthetic genomics to understand how organisms work and to give them new abilities for sustainable biotechnology
We design and build DNA at chromosome scale — from single bases up to rewriting whole chromosomes.
We then use those designed genomes to ask what a genome's content and structure actually do to a cell, and to give microbes new abilities for sustainable biotechnology.
The Blount Lab was founded in 2020 at the University of Nottingham. We are part of the Nottingham Engineering Biology Labs, the Biodiscovery Institute, the GlycoCell UKRI Engineering Biology Mission Hub and the School of Life Sciences.
Why?
- New medicines, vaccines and diagnostics
- Greener chemicals and cleaner feedstocks
- Uncovering the rules of genome function
- Establishing genome design rules
What we work on
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Shuffle the genome, keep the winners
Synthetic yeast strains carry SCRaMbLE, a built-in system that rearranges their genome. A single strain becomes a population of highly diverse cells. We select and screen that population for cells that do something better — using waste carbon sources, making more of a high-value chemical, or generating novel biomolecules.
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Which combinations of genes matter
We design and build new chromosomes to establish which combinations of genes a cell needs for different functions and behaviours. That understanding could lead to streamlined genomes designed for particular tasks.
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Opening up synthetic genomics
Synthetic genomics has been confined to a handful of well-studied lab organisms. We are developing modular ways to build chromosome-scale DNA quickly and cheaply, independent of the host it is destined for — putting the approach within reach of more labs, working on a far wider range of organisms.
Commentary on our work
Features and coverage
Room B88 Biodiscovery Institute
University Park, Nottingham
NG7 2RD, UK