Leaf-cutter ants are well-known examples of insects that use microbes to gain access to nutrients, farming “gardens” in which bacteria and fungi break down plant mass. In an article featured on the cover of the June 2013 issue of Applied Environmental Microbiology, a team including DOE Joint Genome Institute researchers and longtime collaborators at the Great…
Microbial genomes help propose phylum name
Metagenomicsand single-cell genomics are tools helping researchers learn more about the “biological dark matter” that has not been cultivated and studied in the laboratory. In an article published May 14, 2013 in Nature Communications.
DOE Early Career Awardee’s work to involve DOE JGI collaboration
O’Malley’s research, which she recently presented at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society, involves the use of anaerobic gut fungi from horses, sheep, and other large herbivores to convert the cellulose in plants into sugars. Nature has evolved these fungi to break through lignin, a tough biopolymer that surrounds cellulose, and convert that…
The genetic diversity of the maize microbiome
The rhizosphere is the space in, on and around the plant roots where microbes in the plant interact with the microbes in the soil. The DOE JGI did a study with the plant Arabidopsis.
The DOE Joint Genome Institute Expands Capabilities via New Partnerships
With the publication last year of its strategic plan, “Forging the Future — A Ten-Year Strategic Vision” the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has positioned itself to provide the most current technology and expertise to their users so that they can address pressing energy and environmental scientific challenges. An important early…
A new technique for microbial genome assembly
The DOE Joint Genome Institute is also a national user facility focused on developing tools that more cost-effectively enable the assembly and analysis of the sequence that it generates.
A New Cost-Effective Genome Assembly Process
The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) is among the world leaders in sequencing the genomes of microbes, focusing on their potential applications in the fields of bioenergy and environment. As a national user facility, the DOE JGI is also focused on developing tools that more cost-effectively enable the assembly and analysis…
Marine metagenome offers clues to ocean nitrogen cycle
Nitrification is the process by which ammonia is converted first into nitrites and then into nitrates, a form of nitrogen that can then be used by plants to grow. However, understanding how the nitrogen cycle works in marine environments is equally crucial. Until 1977, scientists believed that ammonium could only be oxidized by aerobic bacteria….
Termite diets dictate microbes in their guts
Realtors and homeowners cringe at the thought of termites on their properties, but for bioenergy researchers, these insects are rich harbors of microbial communities that can break down woody lignocellulose. In 2007, the DOE Joint Genome Institute sequenced the microbes in the hindgut of termites from Costa Rica (from the Nasutitermesgenus) to identify the genes…
A trace element’s central role in harmful algal blooms
Four years after it first appeared and devastated the scallop industry, the algal masses that turned the bays of Long Island, NY brown disappeared.