University of Hawaii licences Diversa DNA patent

Diversa Corporation, from San Diego, has provided the University of Hawaii with a non-exclusive research licence to its patent directed to the sequencing of DNA from life forms present in environmental samples.

The University of Hawaii sought the licence for its Centre for Marine Microbial Ecology and Diversity (CMMED), which has been providing genetic material from environmental samples to Diversa since 2003 through a Biodiversity Collaboration Agreement. CMMED intends to perform additional research on the samples it has obtained from unique Hawaiian environments. Under the agreement, CMMED scientists will be permitted to use the licenced technology to identify genes that have been sequenced from environmental samples. The technology makes it possible to identify genes from environmental samples more efficiently and in greater quantities than traditional methods allow.

'This licence is part of a broader, mutually beneficial relationship we have established with the University of Hawaii involving potential new products and scientific discoveries from unique Hawaiian environments,' stated Dr Jay Short, Diversa's president and ceo. 'At the same time that Diversa is fostering basic academic research, this licence leverages our product discovery capabilities by providing Diversa with commercial access to new genes identified by the academic researchers. We expect that other institutions that are interested in microbial community metagenomic sequencing will follow the lead of the Department of Energy and the University of Hawaii and seek a licence to Diversa's patented technology.'