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    ear the town of Rifle, Colorado, lies the primary field site for Phase I of the Subsurface Systems Scientific Focus Area 2.0 (SFA 2.0, sponsored by the DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research—BER).
    Waiting to Respire
    UC Berkeley and JGI researchers joined forces and data sets to describe bacterial genomes for related (“sibling”) lineages that diverged from the bacterial tree before Cyanobacteria and its contemporaries. The information was then used to predict the metabolic strategies applied by a common ancestor to all five lineages.

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    Field researchers studying drought responses in Panicum hallii at the UT Austin Brackenridge Field Lab. (David Gilbert)
    A Model System for Perennial Grasses
    The DOE supports research programs for developing methods for converting plant biomass into sustainable fuels for cars and jets. By studying a close relative model species like Panicum hallii, researchers can develop crop improvement techniques that could be applied to the candidate bioenergy feedstock switchgrass.

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    At high temperature, S. paradoxus cells die in the act of cell division, as seen by the dyads with cell bodies shriveled away from the outer cell wall. (Images by Carly Weiss, courtesy of the Brem Lab)
    Mapping Heat Resistance in Yeasts
    In a proof-of-concept study, researchers demonstrated that a new genetic mapping strategy called RH-Seq can identify genes that promote heat resistance in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, allowing this species to grow better than its closest relative S. paradoxus at high temperatures.

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    Jorge Rodrigues is interested in the biological causes of methane flux variation in the Amazon rainforest. (Courtesy of Jorge Rodrigues)
    Methane Flux in the Amazon
    Wetlands are the single largest global source of atmospheric methane. This project aims to integrate microbial and tree genetic characteristics to measure and understand methane emissions at the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

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    Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus in yellow on green host. (Courtesy of Judith Brown)
    Infections and Host-Pathogen Interactions of Chlorella
    The non-photosynthetic, predatory cyanobacterium Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus is a globally important obligate pathogen of Chlorella species/strains, which are of interest as biofuel feedstocks.

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    Morphological diversity of Sordariales growing in the lab. Pierre Gladieux's proposal explores functional diversity in Neurospora and its relatives. (Pierre Gladieux, INRA Montpellier)
    Insights into Functional Diversity in Neurospora
    This proposal investigates the genetic bases of fungal thermophily, biomass-degradation, and fungal-bacterial interactions in Sordariales, an order of biomass-degrading fungi frequently encountered in compost and encompassing one of the few groups of thermophilic fungi.

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    Click on the image above or click here (https://youtu.be/iSEEw4Vs_B4) to watch a CRISPR Whiteboard Lesson from the Innovative Genomics Institute, this one focuses on the PAM sequence.
    Mining IMG/M for CRISPR-Associated Proteins
    Researchers report the discovery of miniature CRISPR-associated proteins that can target single-stranded DNA. The discovery was made possible by mining the datasets in the Integrated Microbial Genomes and Microbiomes (IMG/M) suite of tools managed by the JGI. The sequences were then biochemically characterized by a team led by Jennifer Doudna’s group at UC Berkeley.

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    The Angelo Coast Range Reserve, from which soil samples were taken, protects thousands of acres of the upper watershed of South Fork of the Eel River (shown here) in Mendocino County. (Akos Kokai via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/on_earth/17307333828/)
    DAS Tool for Genome Reconstruction from Metagenomes
    Through the JGI’s Emerging Technologies Opportunity Program (ETOP), researchers have developed and improved upon a tool that combines existing DNA sequence binning algorithms, allowing them to reconstruct more near-complete genomes from soil metagenomes compared to other methods. The work was published in Nature Microbiology.

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    DOE JGI BOOST logo
    New Software Tools Streamline DNA Sequence Design-and-Build Process
    Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) have developed a suite of build-optimization software tools (BOOST) to streamline the design-build transition in synthetic biology engineering workflows.

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    Cropped image of switchgrass microcosm showing established root network. (James Moran)
    FY 2019 FICUS EMSL-JGI Projects Selected
    Through the EMSL-JGI FICUS calls, users can combine EMSL’s unique imaging, omics and computational resources with cutting-edge genomics, DNA synthesis and complementary capabilities at JGI. This was the sixth FICUS call between EMSL and JGI since the collaborative science initiative was formed.

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    Preparing for a Sequence Data Deluge
    The approved CSP 2019 proposals leverage new capabilities and higher throughput in DNA sequencing, synthesis and metabolomics. Additionally, just over half of the accepted proposals come from primary investigators who have never led any previously accepted JGI proposal.

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    The molecule cyclic di-GMP plays a key role in controlling cellulose production and biofilm formation. To better understand cyclic di-GMP signaling pathways, the team developed the first chemiluminescent biosensor system for cyclic di-GMP and showed that it could be used to assay cyclic di-GMP in bacterial lysates. (Image courtesy of Hammond Lab, UC Berkeley)
    Innovative Technology Improves Our Understanding of Bacterial Cell Signaling
    Cyclic di-GMP (Guanine Monophosphate) is found in nearly all types of bacteria and interacts with cell signaling networks that control many basic cellular functions. To better understand the dynamics of this molecule, researchers developed the first chemiluminescent biosensors for measuring cyclic di-GMP in bacteria through work enabled by the JGI’s Community Science Program (CSP).

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    One of the heated plots at the Harvard Forest (Jeff Blanchard)
    Hidden Giants in Forest Soils
    In Nature Communications, giant virus genomes have been discovered for the first time in a forest soil ecosystem by JGI and University of Massachusetts-Amherst researchers. Most of the genomes were uncovered using a "mini-metagenomics" approach that reduced the complexity of the soil microbial communities sequenced and analyzed.

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    Truffle orchard in Lorraine, France. (Francis Martin)
    Symbiosis a Driver of Truffle Diversity
    Truffles are the fruiting bodies of the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal symbionts residing on host plant roots. In Nature Ecology & Evolution, an international team sought insights into the ECM lifestyle of truffle-forming species. They conducted a comparative analysis of eight Pezizomycete fungi, including four species prized as delicacies.

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    Blyttiomyces helicus on spruce pollen grain. (Joyce Longcore)
    Expanding Fungal Diversity, One Cell at a Time
    In Nature Microbiology, a team led by JGI researchers has developed a pipeline to generate genomes from single cells of uncultivated fungi. The approach was tested on several uncultivated fungal species representing early diverging fungi.

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September 26, 2016

Modeling Microbial Networks in an Oxygen Minimum Zone

Collecting sampled waters from Saanich inlet into carboys for large volume filtration of microbial biomass. (Image courtesy of Steven Hallam, UBC)UBC team develops predictive marine microbiome math model. The Science With help from two DOE national user facilities, a team at the University of British Columbia (UBC) has developed a math model that could help researchers and policy makers track the impact of climate change on the microbial networks that drive the world’s marine ecosystems…. [Read More]

September 6, 2016

Microbial Metabolism Impacts Sustainability of Fracking Efforts

This is not one of the wells used in the study, but it shows what a site looks like during the drilling process. (Image courtesy of the MSEEL (Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory www.mseel.org), where the Wrighton Lab is also conducting research.)Team finds surface microbes are colonizing the deep subsurface. The Science Through a collaborative science program involving two DOE national user facilities, DOE-supported researchers have been able to reconstruct microbial genomes for the first time from shale formations that are being drilled to extract natural gas. Coupled with microbial metabolic information, the data shed light… [Read More]

August 4, 2016

Identifying the Microbial Culprits Initiating Oceanic Nitrogen Loss

In the Nature paper, the team found functional nitrate reductase pathways, shown on the left-hand side of the nitrogen cycle, in SAR11 microbes. (Nitrogen cycle graphic by Zosia Rostomian, Berkeley Lab)Novel lineages of SAR11 clade reveal adaptations to oxygen-poor ocean zones. The Science Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) extend over about 8 percent of the oceanic surface area, but account for up to 50 percent of the total loss of bioavailable nitrogen and thus play an important role in regulating the ocean’s productivity by substantially impacting… [Read More]

June 20, 2016

Insights into How Soil Microbes Regulate Carbon & Sulfur Cycling

German fen with Phragmites australis by Paul Schulze, CC-BY 4.0 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulschulze/14351953065/)Researchers find rare sulfate reducers substantially affect methanogenesis in peatlands. The Science Utilizing microcosms of peat soil, researchers mimicked naturally fluctuating conditions to study sulfate-reducing microbes and how they regulate methane production in peat microbial communities. The Impact Numbers by themselves don’t tell the whole story. Microbes found in low abundance can play key roles… [Read More]

May 20, 2016

Evaluating the cost of accuracy of sequencing approaches

Sakinaw Lake UBCResearchers perform benchmark study for improving microbial community profiling. The Science Researchers use synthetic and natural microbial lake communities to compare the microbial community profiles generated from high throughput short-read sequencing and high throughput long-read sequencing approaches. The Impact Microbes play key roles in maintaining the planet’s biogeochemical cycles, but only a fraction of them… [Read More]

May 3, 2016

Refining the origins of wood-rotting mechanisms

Calocera viscosa by abejorro34, Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0Genome sequences of early-diverging fungi help track origins of white rot fungi. The Science Researchers utilized draft genome sequences of 10 white rot and brown rot fungi representing early-diverging groups to help refine the timeline that dates the enzymatic origins of lignocellulose decomposition. The Impact Fungi are natural degraders of plant material and contain enzymes… [Read More]

April 12, 2016

Updating microbial diversity representation on the tree of life

Tree of Life by Zosia Rostomian for Banfield lab Nat Microbiol paperCultivation-independent methods and bioinformatics have dramatically expanded the number of available genome sequences. The Science Using publicly available data sets from multiple sources, including the DOE Joint Genome Institute’s data management system, researchers have reorganized the tree of life to reflect the over 30,000 eukaryote, bacterial and archaeal genomes now known. The Impact The expansion… [Read More]

April 11, 2016

Roles of DNA methylation in prokaryotes

Fig 1A. Fig 1. Methylomes of 230 prokaryotes from Blow et al. Plos Gen paperSingle-molecule sequencing technology assists microbial DNA methylation study. The Science Researchers sequenced 230 diverse archaeal and bacterial genomes to learn more about the roles DNA methylation plays in prokaryotes. The Impact The epigenome of a cell is the collected set of changes made to specific bases in its genomic DNA that affect how the genome… [Read More]

April 4, 2016

A window into fungal endophytism

the study focused on a fungal endophyte sequenced from a rubber tree such as this. Photo: Marco Simola for CIFOR, CC BY-NC 2.0Comparative genomics highlight genes that may determine fungal lifestyles. The Science Researchers sequenced a fungal endophyte of rubber trees and compared its genome to 36 other fungi, focusing on genes that are crucial to host-fungus interactions. The Impact Endophytes reside within living plant cells and can play roles not just in plant health but also… [Read More]

March 28, 2016

Multiple methods for microbial diversity in one lake

Trout Bog Lake WI by emoody Wikimedia CommonsNine-year study tracks how distinct microbial communities evolve in freshwater lakes. The Science Researchers sequenced, assembled and analyzed bacterial genomes from a nine-year study tracking the evolution of microbial communities in a Wisconsin freshwater lake. The Impact Competing models have been put forward to answer the fundamental question of how microbes evolve, but it remains… [Read More]
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