San Diego, California
October 23,  2001

Diversa Corporation (Nasdaq: DVSA) today announced the signing of biodiversity access and research collaboration agreements in Ghana and Kenya, further extending Diversa's global access
to biodiversity through its collection and collaboration network. These agreements with The Department of Biochemistry at the University of Ghana and The Kenya Wildlife Service, in partnership with The International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Kenya, give Diversa the rights to discover genes and commercialize products from small environmental samples. In exchange, Diversa will provide scientific training, annual research support, and royalties on Diversa's revenues from products developed under the agreements.

The high levels of biodiversity in numerous environments in Ghana and Kenya make them valuable additions to Diversa's collection and collaboration network. Environments of particular interest to Diversa are the alkaline lakes of the Great Rift Valley, such as Lakes Turkana, Bogoria, and Nakuru. In addition, Ghana's forest zone and Kenya's southeastern coastal area have been included among 25 global "hotspots" that contain high levels of biodiversity and many endemic species.

"By accessing biodiversity globally, Diversa is able to combine discovery of novel genes with laboratory evolution technologies to develop products with characteristics superior to those of products identified using traditional culturing methods or through accessing public databases," stated Dr. Jay M. Short, President and Chief Executive Officer of Diversa. "Diversa is targeting
high-value product opportunities such as orally active drugs, including new antibiotics and antifungals, as well as novel biocatalysts, all of which can be discovered and developed from small environmental samples using our patented technologies."

Recognizing that the value of biodiversity should be shared with the countries of origin, Diversa has established itself as the leader in authorized access to genetic diversity around the world. Diversa's relationships have been founded on the fundamental principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity, including: conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the utilization of genetic resources. To date, Diversa has entered into legal agreements to obtain samples from Alaska, Antarctica, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Ghana, Iceland, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Meadowlands Superfund site, Russia, South Africa, and Yellowstone National Park.

Diversa Corporation is a global leader in developing and applying proprietary technologies to discover and evolve novel genes and gene pathways from diverse sources. The Company is utilizing its fully integrated approach to develop novel enzymes and other biologically active compounds, such as orally active drugs, produced by these genes and gene pathways. The Company's proprietary evolution technologies facilitate the optimization of genes to enable product solutions for the pharmaceutical, agricultural, chemical processing, and industrial markets. Within these broad markets, the Company is targeting key multi-billion dollar market segments where it believes its technologies and products will create high value and competitive advantages for strategic partners and customers. The Company's strategic partners are market leaders and include Aventis Animal Nutrition S.A., Celera Genomics, The Dow Chemical Company, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Invitrogen Corporation, and Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc. The Company has also formed joint ventures with  The Dow Chemical Company (named Innovase LLC) and with Syngenta Seeds AG (named Zymetrics, Inc.). Additional information is available at Diversa's website: www.diversa.com.

Company news release
N3897