Comparative genomics identifies sequences involved in photosynthesis under reduced water conditions.   The Science In the presence of sufficient water and light, most plants conduct photosynthesis through what is known as the C3 pathway. As plants spread out and adapted to live in a variety of environments, they developed alternate photosynthesis pathways, known as C4 and… [Read More]

Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria have bigger role in marine carbon cycle than previously thought The Science Researchers have identified the most abundant and globally distributed nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in the oceans, through single-cell genomics and community meta-omics. They have also calculated the NOB’s contribution toward trapping carbon beneath the sunlit waters and determined that though these bacteria… [Read More]

Establishing a genome-wide map of bacterial genes crucial for colonization of plants by beneficial microbes The Science Working with the plant growth-promoting bacterium Pseudomonas simiae, researchers have identified 115 genes that negatively affect its ability to colonize a plant root system when mutated. The Impact A plant’s health and development is influenced by the complex… [Read More]

Nutrient availability in model wetlands helps regulate microbial metabolism and soil carbon cycling rates The Science Studying microbial communities in San Joaquin Delta rice fields, researchers linked microbial metabolism and nutrient availability to soil carbon cycling rates. The Impact Establishing the inter-relationships among microbial metabolism, nutrient availability and soil carbon cycling rates is critical to… [Read More]

Offshore subsurface reservoirs demonstrate human impacts on well microbiomes. The Science Microbes are invisible to the naked eye, but play key roles in maintaining the planet’s biogeochemical cycles. In the Earth’s subsurface, microbes have adapted to thrive in the relatively stable extreme conditions. To learn more about how some of these populations respond to disruptions… [Read More]

The genome of Porphyra umbilicalis reveals the mechanisms by which it thrives in the intertidal zone The Science Through the Community Science Program of the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), a DOE Office of Science User Facility, a 50-member team led by University of Maine, Carnegie Institution for Science, and East… [Read More]

Demonstrating the microfluidic-based, mini-metagenomics approach on Yellowstone hot springs samples. The Science Stanford researchers extracted 29 novel microbial genomes from Yellowstone hot spring samples while still preserving single-cell resolution to enable accurate analysis of genome function and abundance. The work was enabled by the Emerging Technologies Opportunity Program (ETOP) of the U.S. Department of Energy… [Read More]

First complete picture of standing genetic variation within a natural population. The Science Ostreococcus are tiny green algae that are the bases of many marine food webs. A decade after the complete representative genomes of three Ostreococcus picoplankton groups were sequenced, researchers have sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 13 members of a natural Ostreococcus… [Read More]

Genome-wide rice studies yield first major, large-scale collection of mutations for grass models. The Science Fast-neutron irradiation, exposure to high energy neutrons, induces a wide variety of mutations by making changes in DNA. Using this approach, rice researchers were able to create the first major, large-scale collection of mutations for grass models. Resequencing the 1,504… [Read More]

Metagenome pipeline helps researchers resolve near-complete microbial genomes involved in Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Science The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill released 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and was the first major release of oil and natural gases into the deep ocean (1,500 meters). Due to the depth of… [Read More]