Cultivation and sequencing effort targets economically and environmentally relevant microbes. The digestive tracts of ruminant (cud-chewing) animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats convert lignocellulosic plant matter to short-chain fatty acids used for nourishment with unparalleled efficiency, thanks to the activity of symbiotic microbes in the rumen. Rumen microbes play a vital role in allowing… [Read More]

Metabolic functions of microbial communities vary during a geyser eruption. Deep underground, the earth beneath our feet is teeming with microbial life, the majority of which has yet to be characterized. Cut off from sunlight, these enigmatic organisms must obtain life-sustaining energy and carbon, which all living cells need, through other means. A pressing question… [Read More]

Genus-wide Aspergillus project highlights new functional genome annotation methods. Found in microbial communities around the world, Aspergillus fungi are pathogens, decomposers, and important sources of biotechnologically-important enzymes. Each Aspergillus species is known to contain more than 250 carbohydrate active enzymes (CAzymes), which break down plant cell walls and are of interest to Department of Energy… [Read More]

Much of the research in the field of plant functional genomics to date has relied on approaches based on single reference genomes. But by itself, a single reference genome does not capture the full genetic variability of a species. A pan-genome, the non-redundant union of all the sets of genes found in individuals of a… [Read More]

Catalog of candidate genes involved in plant-microbe relationships. As the global population rises, estimated to hit nearly 10 billion by 2050, so does the need to boost crop yields and produce enough plant material for both food and sustainable alternative fuels. To help improve crop breeding strategies and overcome challenges such as making plants more… [Read More]

Comparative genomics involving humongous fungus helps explain evolution of Armillaria Among the contenders for the world’s largest living organism is something usually considered much smaller than a blue whale, or a towering sequoia. This particular organism is so big, one needs an aerial map to grasp its size, and even then it’s not completely visible… [Read More]

Virophage database doubles with discovery in freshwater lakes datasets. In freshwater lakes, microbes regulate the flow of carbon and determine if the bodies of water serve as carbon sinks or carbon sources. Algae and cyanobacteria in particular can trap and use carbon, but their capacity to do so may be impacted by viruses. Viruses exist… [Read More]

Genome analysis of early plant lineage sheds light on how plants learned to thrive on land. Though it’s found around the world, it’s easy to overlook the common liverwort – the plant can fit in the palm of one’s hand and appears to be comprised of flat, overlapping leaves. Despite their unprepossessing appearance, these plants… [Read More]

Community-driven CAMI Challenge offers analysts, scientists insights on the right tools for their research questions. They are everywhere, but invisible to the naked eye. Microbes are the unseen, influential forces behind the regulation of key environmental processes such as the carbon cycle, yet most of them remain unknown. For more than a decade, the U.S…. [Read More]

Proposals encompass multiple capabilities of the national user facility Though organisms can be studied in isolation, a more comprehensive picture emerges when their environmental interactions are taken into account. Along the same lines, many of the 30 proposals selected for the 2018 Community Science Program (CSP) of the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE… [Read More]