Over the past two decades, scientists have linked the decrease in the pH levels of the global oceans and the corresponding slowdown in coral growth to the increasing levels of carbon dioxide trapped in the atmosphere and which in turn are being absorbed in the ocean. As coral reefs are the primary habitat for several…
Poplar rust genome project on Wisconsin Ag Connection
The sequencing of the genetic codes of wheat stem rust pathogen (Puccinia graminis) and poplar leaf rust pathogen (Melampsora larici-populina) is expected to help researchers develop control strategies to address worldwide threats to wheat fields and tree plantations. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was a six-year collaborative effort…
A.niger genome project on The Bioenergy Site
Published online ahead of print May 4, 2011 in Genome Research, a team led by Scott Baker of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory compared the genome sequences of two Aspergillus niger strains to, among other things, better harness its industrial potential in biofuels applications. As more than a million tons of citric acid are produced annually, the production…
How salt-loving archaea can assist with biofuel production
Halophilic bacteria thrive in environments with very high concentrations of salt such as the waters and sediments of salt lakes and saline soils. One of the reasons why the DOE JGI has been sequencing halophiles under the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea (GEBA) project and the Community Sequencing Program is because they have salt-adapted…
JGI Science @ the Lesher: “The Deal with Microbes” video
The May 9, 2011 event at the Lesher Center for the Arts in downtown Walnut Creek featured Jonathan Eisen and Rachel Mackelprang of DOE JGI, and Terry Hazen of Berkeley Lab. KTVU Health and Science Editor John Fowler served as panel moderator. (Note: There’s a short delay before the video starts at the 20-second mark.)…
DOE JGI Director honored by Middlebury College
Waddell, who was presented the honorary degree, doctor of humane letters, was one of six people to receive honorary degrees at this year’s commencement ceremonies. The others were economics scholar and international adviser to political leaders Padma Desai, doctor of laws; Vermont’s long-serving senator, Patrick Leahy, doctor of laws; local volunteer and activist Dorothy Bigelow Neuberger…
Fungal lessons for large-scale “green” chemical production
The chemical compound citric acid has been produced on a large-scale basis for decades with the help of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger. The fungus also has enzymes that can be used to help break down plant cell walls for biofuel production, and it plays a key role in the carbon cycle. Aspergillus niger (Sue…
DOE JGI microbes on space shuttle Endeavour per Wired UK
there are also some other passengers on the shuttle, who might not receive the same media attention, sew-on patches and victory parades. Alongside the all-male crew of mission STS-134, six types of microorganism and a bobtail squid will strap in their seat-belts and head into space. Read more in Wired UK but head for the DOE…
Maize genomics at DOE JGI User Meeting in Genome Technology
Speaking at the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute’s sixth annual User Meeting, held in Walnut Creek, Calif., in March, Buckler said that while they may not have realized it at the time, maize breeders in Thailand, Mexico, and elsewhere have, since the turn of the 20th century, captured a great deal more genomic diversity…
Eucalyptus genome sequence in ScienceDaily
According to Prof Myburg, these scientists, as well as countries with commercial eucalypt plantations will be the primary beneficiaries of the genome sequence now available on the Internet (http://www.phytozome.net/eucalyptus.php). The Eucalyptus research community will continue to add value to the genome sequence in order to make it more accessible to the broader scientific community. Publication of the…