The Pakrasi Lab recently received $1.7 million in funding from the National Science Foundation to redesign the genome of a fast-growing cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973. This project aims to reduce UTEX 2973’s genome and turn it into a green cellular factory for sustainable production of food, feed and fuels.
The Washington University news outlet The Record published an article with details on the project and future implications of the research: https://source.wustl.edu/2019/10/nsf-funds-research-on-nitrogen-fixation/.