At the beginning of her first quarter at UC Santa Cruz, freshman biology student Kimberly Davis collected some soil from the forest floor near Thimann Labs. She then isolated a bacterial virus from the soil, took pictures of it with an electron microscope, extracted the virus’s DNA, sent it off for sequencing by the national…
“HHMI Seeks Schools to Join Science Education Revolution”
The purified DNA from one virus was sent by each school to the Joint Genome Institute-Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico for sequencing. That resulting data allowed students to spend the second term using bioinformatics tools to analyze and annotate the DNA sequence and identify genes. Students compared their DNA sequence to that characterized…
“DOE JGI releases expanded version of Phytozome.net”
An enhanced version of Phytozome.net, a web portal for comparative plant genomics geared to advance biofuel, food, feed, and fiber research, has been released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI). The rest of the story appears here.
DOE JGI Releases Expanded Version of Phytozome.net: Clearinghouse for Comparative Plant Genomics Data
WALNUT CREEK, CA—An enhanced version of Phytozome.net, a web portal for comparative plant genomics geared to advance biofuel, food, feed, and fiber research, has been released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI). Phytozome provides a central “hub” for web access to a rapidly growing number of plant genomes, and includes…
IMG ER Goes Primetime: Provides Expert-Driven QC for Microbial Genome Information
WALNUT CREEK, CA—After a genome is sequenced and automatically annotated, researchers often manually review the predicted genes and their functions in order to improve accuracy and coverage across the vast genetic code of the particular target organism or community of organisms. These annotations drive the publication of high-profile science relevant to advancing bioenergy research and…
DNA of Uncultured Organisms Sequenced Using Novel Single-Cell Approach
WALNUT CREEK, CA—Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences have assembled high quality, contamination-free draft genomes of uncultured biodegrading microorganisms using a novel single cell genome sequencing approach. This proof of principle study, published in the April 23 edition of the journal PLoS…
‘Algae leading the way to photosynthesis’
Scientists have decoded genomes of two strains of green algae, highlighting genes that allow them to capture carbon emissions and maintain the oceans’ chemical balance, a study said on Thursday. The strains’ productivity as a significant source of marine food and their ability to capture carbon means the algae can influence the carbon flux and…
Genes from tiny marine algae opens new avenues of research
By sequencing the DNA of two tiny marine algae, a team of scientists has opened up a myriad of possibilities for new research in algal physiology, plant biology, and marine ecology. The project was led by Alexandra Worden at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI). The genome analyses…
UI biologist studies ocean plant cell adaptation in climate change
How will plant cells that live in the oceans and serve as the basic food supply for many of the world’s sea creatures react to climate change? A University of Iowa biologist and faculty member in the Roy J. Carver Center for Comparative Genomics and his colleagues came one step closer to answering that question…
Unraveling the Mysteries in Sorghum’s ‘Simple’ Genome
Mapping out a genetic blueprint involves determining several short sections that would make up a gene, and sequencing those in bulk. Then, scientists take all of those pieces and put them together like a puzzle—a difficult puzzle, according to Dan Rokhsar, the computational biology leader at the U.S. DOE Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek,…