Unconventional natural gas extraction or fracking can lead to contamination and impact environmental health. Researchers plan to use high-throughput sequencing to reveal the microbial biodegradation pathways and adaptive strategies harnessed by microbial communities in response to potential fracking impacts. Through a controlled comparative genomics study, they hope to gain a clearer understanding of the natural… [Read More]

Endophytes–bacteria or fungi that colonize the interior healthy plant tissue–can also fix nitrogen, making them of interest for applications in sustainable agriculture and biofuel production. Previous studies suggest that native Pinus, Populusand Salix species host nitrogen-fixing endophytes above the ground rather than solely in the rhizosphere, and that these symbionts can be used to improve growth… [Read More]

“Dark matter fungi” describes the large portion of uncultured and unstudied fungal diversity that is ubiquitous and abundant in the environment but absent in taxonomic classifications of the kingdom and sequence databases. Many of these fungi belong to the early diverging branches on the fungal tree of life, and include zoosporic fungi (possessing flagella) that… [Read More]

Microbial mats are self-sustaining ecosystems that represent early forms of life on Earth and orchestrate essentially all the major biogeochemical cycles in the space of a few millimeters. The primary goal of this project is to develop highly-resolved, population-specific functional profiles of dynamic microbial mat communities across relevant spatial and temporal scales. Using these data,… [Read More]

Attine ants cultivate a specific fungus symbiont (Leucoagaricus) in so-called “fungus
 gardens.” The symbiont and its associated bacteria in the fungus
 are cultivated by the ants using plant biomass and subsequently 
consumed. The cultivar fungus is parasitized by various 
specific and opportunistic pathogens that are combated using
 antibiotic-producing bacteria housed on the ants’ bodies. Together,… [Read More]

Populus is one of the flagship plant genomes sequenced by the DOE JGI, and it is of central importance in DOE-funded sustainable biofuels initiatives. One of the primary factors limiting genetic improvement of Populus is a poor understanding of reproductive development, which is essential both for traditional breeding as well as transgenic biosafety. Salix is… [Read More]

Metabolism of methane is an important part of the global carbon cycle. Methane is also recognized as one of the major contributors to the greenhouse effect, with its atmospheric concentration steadily increasing. Freshwater lakes are environments characterized by dynamic cycling of methane, serving both as major sources and major sinks. To better understand the methane… [Read More]

This project seeks to examine carbon cycling mechanisms of active bacteria in the freshwater to marine transition zone of Delaware Bay, one of the nation’s largest estuaries. To learn how the microbial community changes over space and time, the team will study samples collected from trips taken at different times throughout the year. Researchers want… [Read More]