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Sentinel of Change: Water Flea Genome to Improve Environmental Monitoring Capabilities

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.—A tiny crustacean that has been used for decades to develop and monitor environmental regulations is the first of its kind to have its genetic code sequenced and analyzed—revealing the most gene-packed animal characterized to date. The information deciphered could help researchers develop and conduct real-time monitoring systems of the effects of environmental… [Read More]

Making up the gut microbiome is a host-driven project

Baking sourdough bread requires a starter, and so do mammalian guts, which are first colonized by microbial communities from the mother and then acquire more microbes over time. These gut microbial communities are important for maintaining health and combating disease, and it’s why the Human Microbiome Project launched by the National Institutes of Health in… [Read More]

Bigger is Better: DOE JGI Announces 2011 Community Sequencing Program Portfolio

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) has selected 35 new genomic sequencing projects for its 2011 Community Sequencing Program (CSP)—a targeted sampling of the planet’s biodiversity—to be characterized for bioenergy and environmental applications. Supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science, the DOE JGI’s… [Read More]

Beyond Genomics—DOE JGI leads method validation effort in Metatranscriptomics

Ultra-high throughput DNA sequencing platforms that allow researchers to sequence the genetic code of organisms at lightning speed for just pennies are enabling more focused genomic studies on a massive scale. One example involves the transcriptome, a tiny but complex fraction of the complete genetic sequence that is transcribed into different types of RNA molecules…. [Read More]

Breaking Biomass Better: DOE JGI Sequences Wood Decaying Fungus to Advance Biofuels Prospects

WALNUT CREEK, CA—One of the challenges in making cellulosic biofuels commercially viable is to cost-effectively deconstruct plant material to liberate fermentable energy-rich sugars. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is funding several projects focused on identifying enzymes in organisms that optimally degrade cellulosic feedstocks. One such source are fungi, which break down dead wood and… [Read More]

Genome Signatures Enable Tracking of Algal Complexity

WALNUT CREEK, CA—On the long and difficult road toward a carbon-neutral source of transportation fuels, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is pursuing a diversified approach.  This effort involves exploring a range of potential new fuel sources in nature: from plants that may serve as cellulosic feedstocks—fast-growing trees and perennial grasses on land—to oil-producing organisms… [Read More]

DOE JGI Produces New QC Tool for Microbial Genomes

WALNUT CREEK, CA—More than a thousand microbial genomes have been sequenced at various sequencing centers in the past 15 years to better understand their roles in tasks ranging from bioenergy to health to environmental cleanup. Conservative estimates suggest roughly 10,000 microbial genomes will be publicly available within the next two years, but genomic standards have… [Read More]

JGI & NERSC Partner for Genomic High-performance Computing

WALNUT CREEK, CA—The Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) Division have joined forces to create a more robust computational infrastructure for the world’s leading generator of DNA sequence information for bioenergy and environmental applications. “We evaluated wide a variety of options,” said Vito Mangiardi, JGI’s… [Read More]