This project will elucidate the genome of a Frankia sp. strain that represents one of three lineages (Cluster 2) within the genus. The strain is an obligate symbiont living in plant tissue. Genome sequences of close relatives who are not “obligate” have recently become available and will be used for comparative genomics. Frankia sp. strains… [Read More]

Termites efficiently transform lignocellulose and humus into valuable sugars, fuels (hydrogen, methane), and other intermediates of interest for biotechnologists, by exploiting the metabolic capabilities of the diverse microbial symbionts inhabiting their hindguts. In the five evolutionary “lower” termite families, the hindgut microbial community is dominated by a unique assemblage of flagellate protozoa, which are important… [Read More]

Carcinogenic chlorinated solvents are among the most common and persistent groundwater contaminants in all industrialized nations. These compounds include the dry-cleaning agent tetrachloroethene (PCE), the widely used industrial solvent trichloroethene (TCE), and 1,2- dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), a precursor in plastic manufacture. Owing to their significant toxicity, even small spills render groundwater nonpotable, and current methods of… [Read More]

Cyanobacteria are oxygenic (oxygen-producing) photosynthetic prokaryotes that make significant contributions to the global biological solar energy conversion process. Oxygenic photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation are important metabolic processes that are at odds with each other, since the nitrogen-fixing enzyme, nitrogenase, is highly sensitive to oxygen. This project focuses on the strategies devised by the unicellular, nitrogen-fixing… [Read More]

Aerobic methane oxidation catalyzed by bacteria is a key step in the global carbon cycle. The process has great importance for the Earth’s climate by reducing the amount of the potent greenhouse gas methane released from habitats such as wetlands and lakes to the atmosphere and by the consumption of atmospheric methane in upland soils…. [Read More]

Bioremediation of toxic pollutants has been extensively studied as a cleanup strategy over the last 40 years, but it is often limited by a lack of microorganisms having the genes and corresponding enzymes necessary to degrade recalcitrant compounds. Another problem is that sometimes the target compound is only partially degraded, leading to accumulation of toxic… [Read More]