Herbaceous energy crops, especially grasses like switchgrass and Miscanthus, are poised to become a major source of energy in the United States. Because of their efficient water use and productivity, it is anticipated that the majority of the 377 million tons of biomass projected to be produced by energy crops will come from perennial grasses…
Sequencing zoosporic fungi
“Dark matter fungi” describes the large portion of uncultured and unstudied fungal diversity that is ubiquitous and abundant in the environment but absent in taxonomic classifications of the kingdom and sequence databases. Many of these fungi belong to the early diverging branches on the fungal tree of life, and include zoosporic fungi (possessing flagella) that…
Nitrogen-fixing symbioses in pines, poplar and willow
Endophytes–bacteria or fungi that colonize the interior healthy plant tissue–can also fix nitrogen, making them of interest for applications in sustainable agriculture and biofuel production. Previous studies suggest that native Pinus, Populusand Salix species host nitrogen-fixing endophytes above the ground rather than solely in the rhizosphere, and that these symbionts can be used to improve growth…
Microbial mats as ecosystem models
Microbial mats are self-sustaining ecosystems that represent early forms of life on Earth and orchestrate essentially all the major biogeochemical cycles in the space of a few millimeters. The primary goal of this project is to develop highly-resolved, population-specific functional profiles of dynamic microbial mat communities across relevant spatial and temporal scales. Using these data,…
Ant model for ecosystem functions
Attine ants cultivate a specific fungus symbiont (Leucoagaricus) in so-called “fungus gardens.” The symbiont and its associated bacteria in the fungus are cultivated by the ants using plant biomass and subsequently consumed. The cultivar fungus is parasitized by various specific and opportunistic pathogens that are combated using antibiotic-producing bacteria housed on the ants’ bodies. Together,…
Studying sex chromosomes in Salix genomes
Populus is one of the flagship plant genomes sequenced by the DOE JGI, and it is of central importance in DOE-funded sustainable biofuels initiatives. One of the primary factors limiting genetic improvement of Populus is a poor understanding of reproductive development, which is essential both for traditional breeding as well as transgenic biosafety. Salix is…
Microbes metabolizing methane in Lake Washington
Metabolism of methane is an important part of the global carbon cycle. Methane is also recognized as one of the major contributors to the greenhouse effect, with its atmospheric concentration steadily increasing. Freshwater lakes are environments characterized by dynamic cycling of methane, serving both as major sources and major sinks. To better understand the methane…
Baselining Antarctic microbial communities
There is clear recognition that climate change is impacting all life on Earth, particularly in polar environments. For this project, the team focuses on determining how microbial communities change throughout a complete annual cycle in three climate-sensitive, marine-derived Antarctic lakes (Ace Lake, Organic Lake and Deep Lake), and a near-shore marine site. The project will…
Carbon cycling in Delaware Bay estuary
This project seeks to examine carbon cycling mechanisms of active bacteria in the freshwater to marine transition zone of Delaware Bay, one of the nation’s largest estuaries. To learn how the microbial community changes over space and time, the team will study samples collected from trips taken at different times throughout the year. Researchers want…
Microbial composition of tropical peatlands
Peatlands are hotspots of soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation, and also sites where microbial respiration plays a major role in carbon storage and cycling. Though many think of peatlands in northern regions, there are peatlands in the tropics such as Southeast Asia and the Amazon. Tropical peatlands are estimated to store 11-14 percent of global…