A genome comparison of two strains of a bacterium reveals gene loss as a result of a symbiotic relationship with a protist host. The Science The researchers sequenced the complete genome for a symbiotic strain of the bacterium, Polynucleobacter necessarius. They then compared the symbiont’s genome with the free-living strain in order to understand how…
Get the latest edition of JGI Newsletter, The Primer
Get the latest edition of JGI Newsletter, The Primer
Expanding Research Communities and Collaborations: 2014 CSP Portfolio Announced
From the depths of ocean dead zones, to wide swaths of forests, and rising up to the troposphere, where most weather changes occur, the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) 2014 Community Science Program portfolio seeks to parse functional information extracted from complex ecosystems to address urgent energy and environmental challenges. These…
Root-dwelling denizen of Sheoak trees characterized
The complete genome of a novel nitrogen-fixing bacterium has been recently sequenced and analyzed. The Science The researchers isolated and sequenced the complete genome of a species of Micromonospora, bacteria that play a role in promoting plant growth and breaking down plant cell walls, from root nodules of Sheoak trees (Casuarina equisetifolia). The Impact Although…
The heat is on – microbial mat communities in Hot Lake
Diverse underwater communities of cyanobacteria and other microorganisms are capable of withstanding drastic changes in salinity. The Science The microbial mat communities—multi-layered sheets of bacteria and archaea that grow at the interface between submerged, moist or even desiccated surfaces—in a remote lake near the border with Canada are relatively stable, despite weathering a 10-fold increase…
Combining profiling and genomics yields novel metabolites
Cyanobacteria’s ability to capture solar energy and fix CO2 holds promise for biotech applications The Science Researchers studied 10 different cyanobacteria to identify their secondary metabolites (compounds produced during normal cellular metabolism not directly involved in cell growth, that may play an important role in interactions outside the cell) and the genes linked to those…
DOE JGI Science Highlight: The inner workings of cyanobacteria carbon fixation
New research upholds theoretical structure for cyanobacteria carboxysomes. The Science Researchers described the structure of a protein critical to the outer shell of carboxysomes, the organelle-like structure that cyanobacteria use for carbon fixation. The Impact The structure and interaction of the proteins that make up the carboxysome’s outer shell aren’t clearly understood. A detailed study…
Cold, Salty and Promiscuous—Gene-shuffling Microbes Dominate Antarctica’s Deep Lake
Sequestered in Antarctica’s Vestfold Hills, Deep Lake became isolated from the ocean 3,500 years ago by the Antarctic continent rising, resulting in a saltwater ecosystem that remains liquid in extreme cold, and providing researchers a unique niche for studying the evolution of the microbes that now thrive under such conditions. Deep Lake’s microscopic inhabitants are…
Analyzing the Role of DNA Methylation in a Bioremediation Bacterium
Characterizing functional roles in a microbe with bioremediation applications a first step toward similar studies for other prokaryotes The Science Researchers studied the role of DNA methylation on gene expression and other processes in the heavy-metal reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 with the help of next-generation Single-Molecule Real Time (SMRT) sequencers from Pacific Biosciences. The…
Microbial dark matter study in Wired
“The idea was to go after underrepresented branches of microbial diversity – so-called Microbial Dark Matter – for which additional information would have a disproportionately large effect on the tree’s overall shape. In pursuit of these recluses, Rinke and his colleagues sampled nine different habitats that were likely to house exotic or otherwise overlooked organisms:…