DOE Joint Genome Institute

All JGI Features
Home › Archives for mlballon

Microbial dark matter in Science News

“In one of her first projects, Tanja Woyke analyzed the bacterial community huddled inside a worm that lives in the Mediterranean Sea. Woyke, a microbiologist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, Calif., and colleagues published the report in Nature in 2006. It was two years in the making.” Our… [Read More]

How Fungi Help Trees Tolerate Drought

Genome of world’s most common fungal symbiont sheds light on drought resistance role The mutualistic relationship between tree roots and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi has been shaping forest ecosystems since their inception. ECM fungi are key players supporting the growth, health and stress tolerance of forest trees globally, such as oak, pine, spruce, birch and beech,… [Read More]

10 New Projects to be Supported Under Joint DOE User Facility Initiative

The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) have accepted 10 projects submitted during the 2017 call for proposals for their joint “Facilities Integrating Collaborations for User Science” (FICUS) initiative. These new research projects all involve collaboration between two user facilities that are stewarded by the DOE Office… [Read More]

Microbial Metabolism Impacts Sustainability of Fracking Efforts

Team finds surface microbes are colonizing the deep subsurface. The Science Through a collaborative science program involving two DOE national user facilities, DOE-supported researchers have been able to reconstruct microbial genomes for the first time from shale formations that are being drilled to extract natural gas. Coupled with microbial metabolic information, the data shed light… [Read More]

Unveiled: Earth’s Viral Diversity

Environmental datasets help researchers double the number of microbial phyla known to be infected by viruses. The number of microbes in, on, and around the planet – on the order of a nonillion, or 1030 – is estimated to outnumber the stars in the Milky Way. Microbes are known to play crucial roles in regulating… [Read More]

Expanding the Stable of Workhorse Yeasts

New genome sequences target next generation of yeasts with improved biotech uses The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was a part of human civilization before history was recorded. It is essential for making bread, beer and wine, and it is ubiquitous. It is not, however, typical of the more than 1,500 yeast species found around the world…. [Read More]

Identifying the Microbial Culprits Initiating Oceanic Nitrogen Loss

Novel lineages of SAR11 clade reveal adaptations to oxygen-poor ocean zones. The Science Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) extend over about 8 percent of the oceanic surface area, but account for up to 50 percent of the total loss of bioavailable nitrogen and thus play an important role in regulating the ocean’s productivity by substantially impacting… [Read More]

Comparing Fungal Secretions to Uncover Carbon Compound Degradation Pathways

Their unassuming appearances may cause them to be overshadowed by the plants or animals in their natural habitats, but fungi play key roles in maintaining their ecosystems. From breaking down leaf litter and decaying wood in forests to cleaning contaminated soils and waters, fungal enzymes are being characterized for potential use in a wide variety… [Read More]

See and Sort: Developing Novel Techniques to Visualize Uncultured Microbial Cell Activity

New high-throughput and cost-effective approaches provide a better understanding of microbiome functioning Many uncultured microbes play unknown roles in regulating Earth’s biogeochemical processes; everything from regulating plant health to driving nutrient cycles in both terrestrial and marine environments, processes that can impact global climate. While researchers are harnessing multiple approaches to identify these microbes, referred to… [Read More]

Insights into How Soil Microbes Regulate Carbon & Sulfur Cycling

Researchers find rare sulfate reducers substantially affect methanogenesis in peatlands. The Science Utilizing microcosms of peat soil, researchers mimicked naturally fluctuating conditions to study sulfate-reducing microbes and how they regulate methane production in peat microbial communities. The Impact Numbers by themselves don’t tell the whole story. Microbes found in low abundance can play key roles… [Read More]