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SAN DIEGO, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Diversa Corporation (Nasdaq: DVSA) today announced the completion of the sequencing of the Pyrolobus fumarii genome. The work was completed with Celera Genomics (NYSE: CRA), an Applera Corporation business. The sequence of P. fumarii is expected to contribute to the discovery of thermostable agricultural, chemical, and chiral pharmaceutical products. This is the second genome-sequencing project that Diversa and Celera have completed under the collaborative agreement signed in December of 2000. The first milestone, the completion of the sequencing of the Streptomyces diversa(TM) genome, was announced in February of this year and is expected to enable faster discovery and development of novel molecules of pharmaceutical interest from Diversa's PathwayLibrary(TM) collections. Pyrolobus fumarii was first identified in the laboratory of Professor Karl Stetter of the University of Regensburg, who has been a member of Diversa's Scientific Advisory Board since its founding.
P. fumarii was discovered in the wall of a black smoker, or a deep- sea hydrothermal vent formed by sulfur-bearing minerals from beneath the Earth's crust, located in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The organism grows at temperatures between 90 degrees C and 113 degrees C, the highest temperature recorded for an organism to date. P. fumarii grows optimally at 106...