Iron and sulfur are important elements to all life on Earth. Some groups of bacteria use iron and sulfur as energy sources and make organic carbon (sugars) from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These bacteria, known as iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, are found in the sediments and waters of the ocean and on land. They… [Read More]

By incubating soil with position-specific 13C-labeled glucose and determining the isotope distribution in the pyruvate that is produced, researchers will distinguish between two forms of glycolysis that may occur in intact microbial communities. Additionally, they will sequence DNA and RNA from soils and use that information to improve metabolic models. Improved understanding of microbial energy… [Read More]

The Laurentian Great Lakes hold 20 percent of Earth’s surface freshwater and provide inestimable ecosystem services, yet surprisingly little is known about the structure and activity of microbial communities in this ecosystem. This project seeks to characterize the metabolic diversity and activity of microbes across the Great Lakes, and to understand how these microbes control… [Read More]

This project seeks to exploit the unique ability of the fungus Phlebiopsis gigantea to rapidly colonize freshly cut loblolly pine. Investigations will advance understanding of the early and exclusive deconstruction of coniferous wood by P. gigantea, provide a framework for functional analyses of hitherto unknown proteins, develop effective biocontrol strategies against economically important root rot… [Read More]

Trichoderma is a genus of fungi that has a broad impact on mankind. There are approximately 270 species of Trichoderma fungi that have varied interactions with other fungi, animals, plants, and efficiently degrade plant biomass material. One species in particular (T. reesei) is well-established for production of enzymes used in the biofuel and biorefinery industries…. [Read More]

Agave tequilana uses crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) as a photosynthetic adaptation to water-limited environments, with great potential for sustainable production of biofuels due to high water-use efficiency (WUE), high biomass yield, low lignin content, and high cellulose and sugar contents. The goal of this research is to generate high-quality genome assembly and gene annotation for… [Read More]

Marine and freshwater microbial communities and activities vary over the course of the day. In contrast, researchers know little about whether these same patterns exist on land. The team aims to profile the activity of surface soil microbes (those on dead leaf litter) of an arid ecosystem over the course of three days. The leaf… [Read More]

This project will identify and characterize the dominant uncultivated microorganisms that mediate major transformations in the soil carbon cycle. The genetic capacity of microbial communities can be studied through genomic approaches but it remains difficult to make direct links between the genetic capacity of microorganisms and their function in the soil carbon cycle. Proposer: Dan… [Read More]

River microbes play a key role in transforming and metabolizing dissolved organic matter (DOM) and thus have an important impact on global carbon cycles. However, scientists’ understanding of the relationship between the chemical composition of DOM and the genomic functional activity of microbial communities remains limited. Here, researchers aim to produce an extensive metagenomic and… [Read More]