Dr. Roll attended an informational workshop at the end of January at the DOE Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, Calif. Since that time, he has been preparing plans and programs that will allow Roberts students to participate in this initiative in a hands-on manner. The College already has been assigned a specific genome for…
Methylmercury-producing bacterium in Shorelines
A newly decoded bacterial genome brings scientists one step closer to unlocking the secret behind the production of methylmercury, the chemical notorious for contaminating tuna and other seafood. Most mercury pollution comes from the burning of fossil fuels. Once in the atmosphere, it seeps into the rain and gradually trickles down to the sea. Certain…
Arabidopsis lyrata reference genome now available
Arabidopsis thaliana is a small flowering plant often used as a model system by researchers. As part of the 2006 Community Sequencing Program portfolio, the DOE JGI selected A. thaliana’s close relative A. lyrata for sequencing. By comparing their genomes and the genomes of other, related species, researchers could gain insight into plant genetics, specifically…
Methylmercury-producing bacterium in Smithsonian Science
The new genome, sequenced at the California-based DOE Joint Genome Institute, and completed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was published in the Journal of Bacteriology. It lays the foundation for future research to examine the little understood mechanisms behind the production of methylmercury. “We know a little about the bacteria that produce methylmercury but we…
Arabidopsis lyrata genome project in GenomeWeb
The international research team, led by investigators at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, compared the newly sequenced genome to the much smaller genome of the model organism A. thaliana. Their findings suggest that the pared down version of the genome found in A. thaliana reflects a spate of small deletions — many affecting…
Brown mercury-producing bacterium in Medical News Today
“What is not known are the genes or the proteins that allow these bacteria to mediate the transformation,” said ORNL’s Steven Brown, who led a research team to sequence the genome of a bacterium in the Desulfovibrio genus that is capable of methylating mercury. The new genome, sequenced at the California-based DOE Joint Genome Institute…
Brown mercury-producing bacterium in ScienceDaily
Desulfovibrio desulfuricans strain ND132 is an organism that thrives in sediments and soils without oxygen — the places in lakes, streams and wetlands where mercury contamination is converted to methylmercury. It is representative of a group of organisms that “breathe” sulfate instead of oxygen and are largely responsible for mercury methylation in nature. “This is…
ORNL collaboration to understand methylmercury production
Mercury pollution in aquatic environments has been a concern, though the contaminants are mainly sourced from industrial processes and fossil fuel combustion. Isolated from Chesapeake Bay sediment, the sulfate-reducing bacterium, Desulfovibriodesulfuricansstrain ND132, can also produce the human neurotoxin methylmercury. “What is not known are the genes or the proteins that allow these bacteria to mediate…
Cheryl Kerfeld presents ASBMB award lecture
Cheryl A. Kerfeld, a structural biologist and the head of the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute’s Education and Structural Genomics Programs, has won the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education. Kerfeld will present her award lecture, titled “Sequence and Consequence,” at 12:30 p.m. on April 10…
DOE JGI’s Cheryl Kerfeld among 2011 ASBMB awardees in Washington DC
Cheryl A. Kerfeld, a structural biologist and the head of the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute’s Education and Structural Genomics Program, won the ASBMB Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education. Kerfeld, who also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley, was named the winner for encouraging effective teaching and learning…