Biological Soil Crusts (BSC) are globally relevant complex topsoil microbial communities and locally important agents of carbon cycling in arid lands. Because arid lands make a sizeable proportion of all continents, the global standing carbon stock in BSCs probably exceeds 1014 g C, making soil crusts arguably the most extensive biosynthetic biofilm on the planet….
Why sequence microbial communities in expanding dead zones?
Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are widespread oceanographic features expanding due to global warming. There is increasing evidence that ocean warming trends will decrease dissolved oxygen concentrations, causing hypoxic boundary layer expansion that impacts the global carbon cycle, marine nutrient cycles and the climate system. To properly diagnose these transitions, this project launches a systems-level investigation…
Why sequence a metagenomic survey of hydrothermal vents?
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are one of the premier locations for discovering a wide diversity of novel non-photosynthetic microorganisms capable of fixing carbon dioxide at the most extreme conditions within our biosphere. This project represents the first comprehensive metagenomic survey of hydrothermal vent microbial communities, in part to develop an extensive metagenomic database to enable the…
Why conduct the comparative analysis of shipworm microbiome?
Wood-boring bivalves are only marine animals known to sustain normal growth and reproduction feasting solely on wood. The shipworm has two bacterial populations that can break down lignocellulose, one in the gut and the other in a specialized organ in the gills. The DOE JGI sequenced the only shipworm species adapted to cold water as…
Why sequence marine sediments from high-latitude regions?
High-latitude regions are often seen as being relatively pristine areas due to their remote location and low population densities, but human activities are affecting these regions dramatically at a global and local scale. This project considers microbial communities of cold polluted coastal sediments from four geographically distant regions, in part to potentially identify key environmental…
Why sequence microbes in Delaware coastal waters?
Microbial communities off the coast of Delaware have high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon. Sequencing the genomes of stable and transitory microbial communities in the area will provide information on how the communities have changed over several years and provide insights into the roles these microbes play in breaking down carbon trapped and how the…
Why sequence Yellowstone’s microbial mat communities?
Chlorophototrophic organisms use photochemical reaction centers to convert light energy into chemical energy. The microbial mats consisting of these microbes in the alkaline siliceous hot springs of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have been studied for decades as models for understanding the composition, structure and function of microbial communities. For the project, six microbial mat communities…
Why sequence microbial diversity of Etoliko Lagoon?
The Etoliko lagoon of western Greece is a methane-rich environment with a distinct oxygen-poor or anoxic zone. Nearly two dozen microbes will be sequenced to better understand he biodiversity in this lagoon with essentially two ecosystems. Principal Investigators: George Tsiamis, University of Ioannina, Greece Program: CSP 2011
Why generate reference genomes for marine ecosystem research?
Marine bacterioplankton are critical for the global carbon cycling and also hold enormous genetic potential for bioenergy applications. However, many of these microbes cannot be cultured in a lab for study. One way to learn more about these microbes is through single cell genomics, and this project calls for the de novo sequencing of 30…
Why Sequence Bacteria in Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents?
The project focuses on using single-cell genomics to sequence nearly a dozen genomes of uncultivated bacteria that are found in deep-sea hydrothermal vents to learn about their roles in the global carbon, sulfur and nitrogen cycles. Additionally, the genomic information could be used to reduce sulfur emissions and resulting smog and acid rain. Principal Investigators:…