WALNUT CREEK, CA—As the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) works toward developing sustainable sources of clean renewable energy, perennial grasses have emerged as major candidates for the commercial production of cellulosic biofuels from feedstocks. However, little is known about the specific biological traits of the grasses that might contribute to their usefulness for energy production,… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA—Soybean, one of the most important global sources of protein and oil, is now the first legume species with a published complete draft genome sequence.  The sequence and its analysis appear in the January 14, 2010 edition of the journal Nature.  The research team comprised 18 institutions, including the U.S. Department of Energy… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA—The Earth is estimated to have about a nonillion (10 to the 30th) microbes in, on, around, and under it, comprised of an unknown but very large number of distinct species. Despite the widespread availability of microbial genome data—close to 2,000 microbes have been and are being decoded to date—a vast unknown realm… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA—Among the many changes in the ocean is the expansion of oxygen-deficient or oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), also known as dead zones, which affect the processes by which carbon is captured and sequestered on the seafloor and alter the microbial activities that impact the rate and magnitude of ocean carbon sequestration.   Despite the… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA—In 1996, researchers from major genome sequencing centers around the world convened on the island of Bermuda and defined a finished genome as a gapless sequence with a nucleotide error rate of one or less in 10,000 bases. This effectively set the quality target for the human genome effort and was quickly applied… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA—In line with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) interest in characterizing the biotic factors involved in global carbon cycling, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) characterizes a diverse array of plants, microorganisms, and the communities in which they reside to inform options for reducing and stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases. Through a novel… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA—In half a century, one fungus has gone from being the bane of the Army quartermasters’ existence in the Pacific to industry staple and someday, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s mission to promote national energy security through clean, renewable energy development, a biofuel producers’ best friend. Trichoderma reesei’s makeover is… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA—Microbes contribute to manifold human endeavors ranging from bioenergy to agriculture to medicine. Moreover, they make the Earth’s biogeochemical cycles go round, a prerequisite for all life on the planet. Exceedingly numerous, they are also extremely diverse, encompassing most of Earth’s total biodiversity. So it should come as no surprise to find that… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) has selected 71 new genomic sequencing projects for its 2010 Community Sequencing Program (CSP)—a targeted sampling of the planet’s biodiversity—to be characterized for bioenergy, climate, and environmental applications. JGI’s Community Sequencing Program is the largest genomic sequencing effort in the world focused on… [Read More]