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IMG/VR Database Triples in Size

Got 12 Gb of free storage to download it all? To better understand how Earth’s vast and diverse microbial population helps regulate global nutrient cycles, it helps to understand how viruses infect microbes, and affect their functions and metabolic processes. Two years ago, even though the number of viruses is estimated to be at least… [Read More]

All in the Family: Focused Genomic Comparisons

Genus-wide Aspergillus project highlights new functional genome annotation methods. Found in microbial communities around the world, Aspergillus fungi are pathogens, decomposers, and important sources of biotechnologically-important enzymes. Each Aspergillus species is known to contain more than 250 carbohydrate active enzymes (CAzymes), which break down plant cell walls and are of interest to Department of Energy… [Read More]

The fungus that made itself at home

Retracing how the dry rot Serpula lacrymans adapted to a new ecological habitat. The Science By comparing genetic information from similar organisms, researchers have gained insights on why the dry rot (Serpula lacrymans) is so destructive in houses. A study involving six brown rot fungi reveals the genomic changes Serpula lacrymans has undergone in adapting… [Read More]

When One Reference Genome is Not Enough

Much of the research in the field of plant functional genomics to date has relied on approaches based on single reference genomes. But by itself, a single reference genome does not capture the full genetic variability of a species. A pan-genome, the non-redundant union of all the sets of genes found in individuals of a… [Read More]

A Functional Genomics Database for Plant Microbiome Studies

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]

Colleen Hansel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

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]

An Addiction Crucial to a Fungus’ Reproduction

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]

Succulent Genes for Water Use Efficiency

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]

Insights into carbon fixation in the dark ocean  

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]

J. Chris Pires, University of Missouri

“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]