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Model for Methane and Microbial Metabolism

Methane hydrates are pockets of methane trapped inside a solid structure of water and are often found in ocean floor sediments. Marine continental margin sediments that bear these methane hydrates are estimated to contain up to 2,000 billion metric tons of methane. Anaerobic methanotrophic archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria (ANME-SRB consortia) account for the oxidation of… [Read More]

Testing synthesized genes in A. niger

Aspergillus niger is used in industry for the production of enzymes for biomass degradation and other applications. It is also a useful host for expressing glycoside hydrolase (GH) genes from bacteria that have valuable properties. However, researchers do not fully understand the factors that provide high titer production of heterologous enzymes in fungal hosts. The… [Read More]

Examining a predominant Deepwater Horizon microbe

Single-cell genomics unravels a microbial species’ role in breaking down hydrocarbons. The Science: Researchers sequenced and analyzed a single cell of Colwellia bacteria to understand why these microbes were predominant in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Impact: Understanding the characteristics of the Colwellia bacteria furthers the researchers understanding of… [Read More]

DOE JGI, EMSL Announce 2015 Collaborative Science Projects

Combining complementary resources for greater scientific understanding. The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) have accepted 12 projects submitted during the 2014 call for Collaborative Science Initiative proposals. The collaborative call represents a unique opportunity for researchers to combine the power of genomics and molecular characterization in… [Read More]

Getting a Jump on Plant-Fungal Interactions

Transposable elements in a genome could make plant pathogens more flexible with their hosts. The Science: Researchers examined a correlation between fungal plant pathogens and the abundance of transposable elements in their genomes. They looked at the mechanisms of transposable elements in symbionts that are similar to those in pathogens. The Impact: Fungal plant pathogens may… [Read More]

Gene expression analyses of Populus crosses

Populus is one of DOE JGI’s Flagship Plant Genome species and is of special interest as a biofuels feedstock. It was selected as the model forest species for genome sequencing due to its modest genome size, rapid growth, relative ease of experimental manipulation and range of available genetic tools. As such, Populus trichocarpa was the… [Read More]

Carbon studies in Northern California

The global terrestrial carbon reservoir is primarily distributed among grasslands, forests   and cultivated farms. While the majority of fixed carbon is stored in vegetation in forests, most fixed carbon in grasslands is stored in soil. Thus, it is critical to understand the carbon cycling in grassland soil. One challenge climate researchers face is making accurate… [Read More]

A Decade of Improvements on the Reference Green Alga Genome

Since the generation of the first draft sequence, DOE JGI researchers have been improving a key algal genome. The Science: The high-quality genome sequence of the tiny single-celled alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has proved useful for researchers studying photosynthesis and cell motility. The Impact: In the decade since researchers initiated plans to sequence and now annotate… [Read More]

In Memoriam: Falk Warnecke

Falk Warnecke was a postdoctoral fellow at the DOE JGI’s Microbial Ecology Program from March 2005 until June 2009. Among the publications that resulted from his work here, he was first author on the termite hindgut metagenome paper that appeared in Nature. Warnecke died on July 15, 2014 at the age of 42. Within a… [Read More]