A publicly available repository allows genomics researchers to compare multiple assemblers. The Science: A repository of genome assemblers is being developed to automate the process of selecting the best assembler for the task at hand. The Impact: There are many different genome assemblers being introduced and touted. On the nucleotid.es site (http://nucleotid.es/), the test results…
Tracing Ancestral Responses to Light from Algae to Plants
Analysis track origins of algal light sensors to a shared ancestor approximately one billion years ago. The Science: Researchers determined the origin of a group of protein-based light sensors in land plants and a series of related phytoplankton by sequencing and comparing RNA in these genomes. The Impact: Marine phytoplankton are considered responsible for roughly…
2015 DOE JGI’s Science Portfolio Delves Deeper into the Earth’s Data Mine
The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), a DOE Office of Science user facility, has announced that 32 new projects have been selected for the 2015 Community Science Program (CSP). From sampling Antarctic lakes to Caribbean waters, and from plant root micro-ecosystems, to the subsurface underneath the water table in forested watersheds,…
Training the Next Generation of Talent
New Graduate Internship Program Builds Bridges Between DOE JGI, UC Merced Days after presenting the results of his summer research at the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), a DOE Office of Science user facility, Keedrian Olmstead was back on campus at the University of California, Merced to start orientation as a…
Going deep to find drought-tolerant genes in Brachy
Many unannotated genes identified through sequencing multiple lines of the model grass. The Science Researchers used deep sequencing to look at whole-genome sequence variation in seven lines of the model grass Brachypodium distachyon and found previously unannotated genes. They also looked at genome-wide gene expression under drought-stress conditions. The Impact Hundreds of genes not present…
nucleotid.es genome assembly tool in GenomeWeb
“Nucleotid.es, a publicly available repository developed by a researcher at the Joint Genome Institute, aims to provide a comprehensive list of genome assemblers and associated benchmarks that will help researchers in the genomics community select and use the most appropriate assembly tools for their sequencing projects.” Full story on GenomeWeb. (Note: Free registration may be…
Elucidating Extremophilic “Microbial Dark Matter”
Metagenomics and single-cell genomics are providing the first substantial genomic data on uncultured microbes in extreme environments. The Science: Genomes from novel lineages of bacteria and archaea in extreme environments have become accessible through techniques such as metagenomics and single-cell genomics. The Impact: Applying single-cell genomics and metagenomics toward uncultivated microbes in extreme environments has…
Decoding Virus-Host Interactions in the Oxygen-Starved Ocean
For multicellular life—plants and animals—to thrive in the oceans, there must be enough dissolved oxygen in the water. In certain coastal areas, extreme oxygen-starvation produces “dead zones” that decimate marine fisheries and destroy food web structure. As dissolved oxygen levels decline, energy is increasingly diverted away from multicellular life into microbial community metabolism resulting in…
Far-Red Light Makes Far-Reaching Algal Changes
How a cyanobacterial strain adapts to boost photosynthesis efficiency under various light conditions. The Science: Researchers sequence the genome of a cyanobacterial strain isolated from hot springs near Yellowstone National Park and conduct gene expression and metabolic studies to understand how it adapts to utilize far-red light to photosynthesize. The Impact: Understanding how cyanobacteria utilize…
Comparing Genomes/Lifestyles of Freshwater Bacteria
Single-cell genomics sheds light on nutrient and carbon cycling in Actinobacteria. The Science: Researchers assembled and compared draft genomes of acI Actinobacteria from single cells collected in four freshwater lakes in the United States and Europe. The Impact: The single cells collected represented three different acI tribes of Actinobacteria, allowing researchers to learn more about…