Photosynthesis is the biological process that uses the energy of sunlight to drive the primary production of organic carbon in the biosphere. Despite its fundamental importance, researchers have not yet identified all of the genes that are required for photosynthesis. To identify potentially hundreds of new genes that are necessary for photosynthesis, researchers plan to…
RAISE the Standard
As part of the ongoing diversity & inclusion efforts at the JGI, the Diversity & Inclusion Working Group developed a poster asking people to “RAISE the Standard“: Respect. Act as a mentor. Include Everyone. Support a healthy work-life balance. Encourage risk-taking. The new poster will be placed in the conference rooms.
Deep Sequencing of Dikarya
Fungi perform essential ecological functions, both beneficial and harmful. The ecology of most of the 1.5- 6 million fungal species is unknown. The current 1000 Fungal Genomes (1KFG) and associated CSPs (e.g., Mycorrhizal Genomics Initiative, Saprotrophic Basidiomycetes) have been mostly successful in sampling genomes of members of the Dikarya. The results have included an increased…
Shale Gas Extraction Impact on Microbes
Due to the high cost of drilling and maintaining sample integrity, there has been very little research on microbial life in pristine hydrocarbon-bearing shale ecosystems. This project provides necessary information needed to plan for future energy and resource needs. Advances in high throughput genomics afford the first opportunity to deeply characterize microbial phylogenetic diversity and…
Understanding Sugar Accumulation in Sorghum
The goal of the project is to identify and characterize the biological pathways and their regulators that enable sucrose accumulation in sweet sorghum, whose genome was sequenced by the DOE JGI. Understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying sugar production and storage in sorghum is of great interest to both biologists and breeders, and the genes in…
Genomic Survey of Lentinula genus
Lentinula is a group of white-rot, wood-decaying fungi that is famous as the genus of shiitake mushrooms, Lentinula edodes. Today, shiitake is cultivated worldwide, and it is second only to the button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, a previous DOE JGI project, in terms of production volume. However, the diversity within cultivars is dwarfed by the genetic…
Microbial Controls on Carbon Cycling in Freshwater Lakes
The role of lakes in the global carbon budget has previously been underestimated. The total amount of organic matter stored in the sediments of lakes and reservoirs is estimated to exceed that stored in the sediments of the world’s oceans. Freshwater lakes can act as net sources or sinks of atmospheric carbon, and microbes mediate…
ASR Pathogen Reference Genome
Phakopsora pachyrhizi is responsible for Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) and is the major pathogen of soybean, causing severe losses in almost all soybean-growing areas. Nearly 300 billion tons of the legume are produced annually, and used primarily as feedstock and for bioenergy production. Yield damage caused by ASR can be dramatic (reported cases from 60…
Global Diversification of Pisolithus
The mutualistic ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal genus Pisolithus colonizes the roots of trees in forests around the world and are inoculated on bioenergy crops such as Eucalyptus sp. and Pinus sp. due to their role in promoting plant health and productivity under different environmental constraints. The mutualistic relationship between tree roots and ECM fungi, and the…
Methane cycling in arid and semi-arid ecosystems
Roughly one-third of the world’s land surface is characterized by severe water deficiency, and these semi-arid and desert areas around the world are currently expanding, impacting local and global climate. Very little is known about the microbial communities inhabiting the natural dry ecosystems, but environmental genetic studies showed that diverse and active bacteria inhabit arid soils,…