The western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) ecosystem is one of the most sensitive environments to climate change, having experienced an increase in mean air temperatures of 2–3°Celsius over the past 50 years. It is not surprising that WAP waters are warming as well. Efforts are underway to understand how this warming will alter the ecology of…
How soil microbes impact crop rotation
Crop rotation with nitrogen-fixing legumes has proven effective in replenishing nutrient-deficient soils but evidence suggests the byproducts of these legumes have a wider influence on soil biogeochemical processes than previously thought. Root nodules are associated with symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria generating hydrogen as a by-product of nitrogenase activity. In practice, 40-60 percent of electron transfers of…
Studying symbionts in various termite species
Lower termites that feed on wood have symbiotic microbes in their hindguts. Higher termites such as Nasitutermes sequenced by the DOE JGI don’t have these symbionts. While higher termites make up the majority of termite species and have prokaryotic microbiota in their guts, for species other than wood-feeders, the roles of these microbes in breaking…
Synthesis of a yeast chromosome arm
The Synthetic Yeast genome project, or Sc2.0 (www.syntheticyeast.org), aims to design, construct, and replace the native 12Mb genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with a fully synthetic version. In doing so, researchers hope to learn more about questions such as genome organization, gene content, and the intimate relationship between genome structure and evolution. Additionally, yeasts are being…
Impact of climate change on Harvard Forest soil microbes
The Earth’s climate is warming, causing both biophysical and biogeochemical feedbacks to the climate system. Increasing temperature seems to alter the way soil organic matter (SOM) is processed, causing the carbon stored in soils to transfer to the atmosphere. Though soil microbes are major drivers of soil carbon cycling, the process by which temperature affects…
Identifying gene expression changes in switchgrass
RNA sequencing enables researchers to gain information about gene expression. In this case it is being used to identify the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms in switchgrass, particularly related to cell wall synthesis, for bioenergy crop relevant traits. Switchgrass is being developed as a bioenergy crop because it is already high-yielding and stress tolerant; nonetheless,…
Building a switchgrass genomic variation database
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) attracts bioenergy researchers because of its potential for high yield under low input conditions, native origin and wide adaptation and is well along in its development and use as a bioenergy crop. Resequencing multiple lines of switchgrass will provide researchers with a uniform set of genomic variation data, hopefully facilitating development of…
New tool helps find gene markers in microorganisms
Researchers have devised a novel method to exploit relationships between bacteria and archaea for a new set of gene markers The Science The researchers developed a new way to identify gene markers in bacteria and the primitive microorganisms classified in the kingdom known as Archaea. Dubbed, PhyEco (for phylogenetic and phylogenetic ecology) this strategy can…
Why Sequence Dipterans?
A more accurate and detailed understanding of the evolution of regulatory sequences is critical to contemporary genome research. In order to study the evolution of cis-regulation, this project aims to identify and construct functional models of regulatory sequences from a carefully chosen set of developmental genes. The genes will be selected from three diverse families…
Why Sequence Karenia brevis?
Karenia brevis (Davis) Hanson and Moestrup is a unicellular dinoflagellate protist that causes harmful algal blooms that occur annually in the Gulf of Mexico. These “red tides” cause extensive marine animal mortalities and human illness through the production of highly potent neurotoxins known as brevetoxins. Insight into the molecular mechanisms that control the growth and…