Catalog of candidate genes involved in plant-microbe relationships. As the global population rises, estimated to hit nearly 10 billion by 2050, so does the need to boost crop yields and produce enough plant material for both food and sustainable alternative fuels. To help improve crop breeding strategies and overcome challenges such as making plants more… [Read More]
How long have you collaborated with JGI? I started collaborating with JGI in the Fall of 2013 as part of a Facilities Integrating Collaborations for User Science (FICUS) award between JGI and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). (Click here to learn more about her approved FICUS proposal.) We have been working with the JGI… [Read More]
A fungus relies on bacteria to regulate key components of its reproductive machinery The Science To better understand how beneficial organisms (symbionts) are transmitted between host generations, researchers investigated the role that bacteria living within a host (endosymbionts) have on fungal host reproduction, and the reproductive genes they regulate. The bacterial endosymbiont, Burkholderia, is recognized… [Read More]
Comparative genomics identifies sequences involved in photosynthesis under reduced water conditions. The Science In the presence of sufficient water and light, most plants conduct photosynthesis through what is known as the C3 pathway. As plants spread out and adapted to live in a variety of environments, they developed alternate photosynthesis pathways, known as C4 and… [Read More]
Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria have bigger role in marine carbon cycle than previously thought The Science Researchers have identified the most abundant and globally distributed nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in the oceans, through single-cell genomics and community meta-omics. They have also calculated the NOB’s contribution toward trapping carbon beneath the sunlit waters and determined that though these bacteria… [Read More]
“JGI has phenomenal scientists and staff who are part of our dream team.” How long have you collaborated with the JGI? I have been involved with the JGI Community Science Program (CSP) since 2012. I am involved in two JGI projects. The first one is the Brassicales Map Alignment Project (BMAP), which was funded… [Read More]
Comparative genomics involving humongous fungus helps explain evolution of Armillaria Among the contenders for the world’s largest living organism is something usually considered much smaller than a blue whale, or a towering sequoia. This particular organism is so big, one needs an aerial map to grasp its size, and even then it’s not completely visible… [Read More]
“If we can assemble genomes, we can learn some of these strategies to reduce bias.” I study the role of secondary metabolites, especially defensive chemistry and how they influence plant-fungal interactions. For my Ph.D., I’m studying a mushroom called Amanita phalloides, the death cap mushroom. It’s native to Europe but it was brought overseas… [Read More]
Freezer Preventive Monitoring Program A Model of Berkeley Lab Energy Efficiency Efforts It’s a common scene in popular culture, and it likely plays out in your own home: someone looking for a snack holds the refrigerator door open so long that eventually someone else complains that its cold enough for penguins to migrate from the… [Read More]
Virophage database doubles with discovery in freshwater lakes datasets. In freshwater lakes, microbes regulate the flow of carbon and determine if the bodies of water serve as carbon sinks or carbon sources. Algae and cyanobacteria in particular can trap and use carbon, but their capacity to do so may be impacted by viruses. Viruses exist… [Read More]