If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, so the adage goes, it must be a duck. But if the duck gets infected by a virus so that it no longer looks or quacks like one, is it still a duck? For a team led by researchers from The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan studying how virus infections cause significant metabolic changes in marine microbes, the answer is no. They refer to the infected microbial cells as virocells, a change in name which reflects the metabolic changes they’ve undergone. [Read More]

A “hook and bait” single-cell genomic approach to bioprospecting. The Science One of the most vital pieces of equipment for fly fishing is a boxful of lures. Designed with feathers or wires to mimic an insect or a particular movement, each of these lures are the bait designed to attract specific catches. A similar technique… [Read More]

Over 40 percent of the cereal crop’s genes respond to drought stress. The Science Fields of drooping stalks and cracked earth are becoming common images in many regions due to more extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and floods. The planet’s resources are being stretched by a growing human population and increasing demand… [Read More]

For the first time, a team analyzes the transcriptomes of a lichen fungus and alga to understand their partnership more clearly. The Science The humble lichen is a superorganism: one being that is actually comprised of two (or more) participants. One is a fungus (usually belonging to the ascomycetes, one of the two main branches… [Read More]

Researchers start pinning down how a fungal symbiont spurs growth of poplar, a potential biofuel feedstock.  The Science The fungus Mortierella elongata enjoys a dual lifestyle; it can thrive in the soil as a saprophyte, living off decaying organic matter, or as an endophyte, living between a plant’s root cells. The fungus is almost always… [Read More]

A team has optimized a crucial part of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to enable improvements in microbial oil production. The Science CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful, high-throughput gene-editing tool that can help scientists engineer organisms for bioenergy applications. Cas9 needs guide RNA to lead it to the correct sequence to snip—but not all guides are effective. To ensure… [Read More]

Nanohaloarchaeota cultures reveal they are symbionts and not free-living organisms. The Science Researchers employed multiple microbiology and ‘omics techniques to experimentally determine that Nanohaloarchaeota are symbionts, rather than free-living organisms as had been originally thought. The Impact The Antarctic lakes are a “treasure trove” of unknown microbes that play critical roles in environmental processes (related… [Read More]

Switchgrass community gardens help distinguish genetic bases of fitness traits from climactic influence. The Science To better understand the genetic basis of local adaptation, researchers established community gardens of switchgrass plants in 10 different field sites on a north-south gradient across the United States. Hundreds of the switchgrass plants in these gardens are clonally propagated… [Read More]

Describing the largest analysis to date of the modified DNA base 5mC variations in fungi. by Massie S. Ballon The Science Changing an A, C, T or G in a genome sequence can lead to changes in protein structures and functions, but the DNA bases themselves can also be modified. The best-known example of a… [Read More]

Panicum hallii genomes offer insights to drought tolerance. The Science Researchers have developed a genomic model to study drought tolerance in perennial grasses using Panicum hallii (Hall’s panicgrass), by generating two complete genomes from varieties that diverged over a million years ago. The hallii variety thrives in desert environments, while the filipes variety is less… [Read More]