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    Data yielded from RIViT-seq increased the number of sigma factor-gene pairs confirmed in Streptomyces coelicolor from 209 to 399. Here, grey arrows denote previously known regulation and red arrows are regulation identified by RIViT-seq; orange nodes mark sigma factors while gray nodes mark other genes. (Otani, H., Mouncey, N.J. Nat Commun 13, 3502 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31191-w)
    Streamlining Regulon Identification in Bacteria
    Regulons are a group of genes that can be turned on or off by the same regulatory protein. RIViT-seq technology could speed up associating transcription factors with their target genes.

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    (PXFuel)
    Designer DNA: JGI Helps Users Blaze New Biosynthetic Pathways
    In a special issue of the journal Synthetic Biology, JGI scientific users share how they’ve worked with the JGI DNA Synthesis Science Program and what they’ve discovered through their collaborations.

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    A genetic element that generates targeted mutations, called diversity-generating retroelements (DGRs), are found in viruses, as well as bacteria and archaea. Most DGRs found in viruses appear to be in their tail fibers. These tail fibers – signified in the cartoon by the blue virus’ downward pointing ‘arms’— allow the virus to attach to one cell type (red), but not the other (purple). DGRs mutate these ‘arms,’ giving the virus opportunities to switch to different prey, like the purple cell. (Courtesy of Blair Paul)
    A Natural Mechanism Can Turbocharge Viral Evolution
    A team has discovered that diversity generating retroelements (DGRs) are not only widespread, but also surprisingly active. In viruses, DGRs appear to generate diversity quickly, allowing these viruses to target new microbial prey.

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    Photograph of a stream of diatoms beneath Arctic sea ice.
    Polar Phytoplankton Need Zinc to Cope with the Cold
    As part of a long-term collaboration with the JGI Algal Program, researchers studying function and activity of phytoplankton genes in polar waters have found that these algae rely on dissolved zinc to photosynthesize.

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    This data image shows the monthly average sea surface temperature for May 2015. Between 2013 and 2016, a large mass of unusually warm ocean water--nicknamed the blob--dominated the North Pacific, indicated here by red, pink, and yellow colors signifying temperatures as much as three degrees Celsius (five degrees Fahrenheit) higher than average. Data are from the NASA Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (MUR SST) Analysis product. (Courtesy NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center)
    When “The Blob” Made It Hotter Under the Water
    Researchers tracked the impact of a large-scale heatwave event in the ocean known as “The Blob” as part of an approved proposal through the Community Science Program.

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    A plantation of poplar trees. (David Gilbert)
    Genome Insider podcast: THE Bioenergy Tree
    The US Department of Energy’s favorite tree is poplar. In this episode, hear from ORNL scientists who have uncovered remarkable genetic secrets that bring us closer to making poplar an economical and sustainable source of energy and materials.

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    HPCwire Editor's Choice Award (logo crop) for Best Use of HPC in the Life Sciences
    JGI Part of Berkeley Lab Team Awarded Best Use of HPC in Life Sciences
    The HPCwire Editors Choice Award for Best Use of HPC in Life Sciences went to the Berkeley Lab team comprised of JGI and ExaBiome Project team, supported by the DOE Exascale Computing Project for MetaHipMer, an end-to-end genome assembler that supports “an unprecedented assembly of environmental microbiomes.”

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    With a common set of "baseline metadata," JGI users can more easily access public data sets. (Steve Wilson)
    A User-Centered Approach to Accessing JGI Data
    Reflecting a structural shift in data access, the JGI Data Portal offers a way for users to more easily access public data sets through a common set of metadata.

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    Phytozome portal collage
    A More Intuitive Phytozome Interface
    Phytozome v13 now hosts upwards of 250 plant genomes and provides users with the genome browsers, gene pages, search, BLAST and BioMart data warehouse interfaces they have come to rely on, with a more intuitive interface.

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    screencap from Amundson and Wilkins subsurface microbiome video
    Digging into Microbial Ecosystems Deep Underground
    JGI users and microbiome researchers at Colorado State University have many questions about the microbial communities deep underground, including the role viral infection may play in other natural ecosystems.

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    Yeast strains engineered for the biochemical conversion of glucose to value-added products are limited in chemical output due to growth and viability constraints. Cell extracts provide an alternative format for chemical synthesis in the absence of cell growth by isolating the soluble components of lysed cells. By separating the production of enzymes (during growth) and the biochemical production process (in cell-free reactions), this framework enables biosynthesis of diverse chemical products at volumetric productivities greater than the source strains. (Blake Rasor)
    Boosting Small Molecule Production in Super “Soup”
    Researchers supported through the Emerging Technologies Opportunity Program describe a two-pronged approach that starts with engineered yeast cells but then moves out of the cell structure into a cell-free system.

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    These bright green spots are fluorescently labelled bacteria from soil collected from the surface of plant roots. For reference, the scale bar at bottom right is 10 micrometers long. (Rhona Stuart)
    A Powerful Technique to Study Microbes, Now Easier
    In JGI's Genome Insider podcast: LLNL biologist Jennifer Pett-Ridge collaborated with JGI scientists through the Emerging Technologies Opportunity Program to semi-automate experiments that measure microbial activity in soil.

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    A view of the mangroves from which the giant bacteria were sampled in Guadeloupe. (Hugo Bret)
    Giant Bacteria Found in Guadeloupe Mangroves Challenge Traditional Concepts
    Harnessing JGI and Berkeley Lab resources, researchers characterized a giant - 5,000 times bigger than most bacteria - filamentous bacterium discovered in the Caribbean mangroves.

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    In their approved proposal, Frederick Colwell of Oregon State University and colleagues are interested in the microbial communities that live on Alaska’s glacially dominated Copper River Delta. They’re looking at how the microbes in these high latitude wetlands, such as the Copper River Delta wetland pond shown here, cycle carbon. (Courtesy of Rick Colwell)
    Monitoring Inter-Organism Interactions Within Ecosystems
    Many of the proposals approved through JGI's annual Community Science Program call focus on harnessing genomics to developing sustainable resources for biofuels and bioproducts.

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    Coloring the water, the algae Phaeocystis blooms off the side of the sampling vessel, Polarstern, in the temperate region of the North Atlantic. (Katrin Schmidt)
    Climate Change Threatens Base of Polar Oceans’ Bountiful Food Webs
    As warm-adapted microbes edge polewards, they’d oust resident tiny algae. It's a trend that threatens to destabilize the delicate marine food web and change the oceans as we know them.

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Home › Items tagged with: bacteria

Content Tagged "bacteria"

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November 8, 2013

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… [Read More]

November 1, 2013

Lost in symbiosis: genes dropped in piggy-backing bacterial strain

A genome comparison of two strains of a bacterium reveals gene loss as a result of a symbiotic relationship with a protist host. The Science The researchers sequenced the complete genome for a symbiotic strain of the bacterium, Polynucleobacter necessarius. They then compared the symbiont’s genome with the free-living strain in order to understand how… [Read More]

October 25, 2013

Root-dwelling denizen of Sheoak trees characterized

The complete genome of a novel nitrogen-fixing bacterium has been recently sequenced and analyzed. The Science The researchers isolated and sequenced the complete genome of a species of Micromonospora, bacteria that play a role in promoting plant growth and breaking down plant cell walls, from root nodules of Sheoak trees (Casuarina equisetifolia). The Impact Although… [Read More]

August 30, 2013

Subsurface Sediment Yields Novel Organism

Metagenomic analysis emphasizes the “extraordinary microbial novelty” of poorly-explored subsurface ecosystems The Science Through metagenomics, researchers reconstructed a dominant organism and member of a new phylum-level lineage from an aquifer sediment in Colorado. The Impact Analysis of the complete microbial genome led to a detailed metabolic model with evidence for multiple new enzymes and pathways…. [Read More]

July 26, 2013

The Importance and Function of Nitrogen-Fixing Microbes

All organisms on Earth require nitrogen to survive, but most cannot use nitrogen unless it is combined with other elements. These compounds are formed by the process known as nitrogen fixation, which can only be carried out in nature with the help of microorganisms. In agriculture, fertilizers are often deployed to supplement nitrogen levels in… [Read More]

May 3, 2013

Marine metagenome offers clues to ocean nitrogen cycle

Nitrification is the process by which ammonia is converted first into nitrites and then into nitrates, a form of nitrogen that can then be used by plants to grow. However, understanding how the nitrogen cycle works in marine environments is equally crucial. Until 1977, scientists believed that ammonium could only be oxidized by aerobic bacteria…. [Read More]

June 21, 2012

Waves of Berkeley Lab Responders Deploy Omics to Track Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Cleanup Microbes

In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago, various strategies were deployed to prevent 4.9 million barrels of light crude oil from fouling the waters and reaching the shores. A team of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers found that nature also played a role… [Read More]

June 1, 2012

Comparative genomics method to tag novel nitrogen-fixation genes

Nitrogen is crucial for plant growth but plants cannot harness it directly from the atmosphere. In the United States, legume crops such as soybeans and peas rely on nitrogen fertilizers to boost yields; in 2007, 13 million tons of industrially-produced fertilizers were applied. Soil bacteria such as Sinorhizobiummeliloti have a symbiotic relationship with plant hosts… [Read More]

March 2, 2012

Elucidating bacteria’s roles in ant fungal gardens

Leafcutter ants cultivate fungal gardens that serve as their primary food source. Working toward the goal of harnessing novel enzymes for breaking down plant biomass to produce cellulosic biofuels, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) researchers have been studying the process by which the fungi break down the plant leaves harvested by the ants and… [Read More]

February 24, 2012

Analyzing enzymes for a PAH degradation pathway

Microbial activity is crucial for breaking down compounds, removing pollutants and chemically transforming organic compounds. Some of these pollutants are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in contaminated soils. The PAH phenanthrene, for example, can be broken down by the bacterium Arthobacterphenanthrenivorans, which was isolated from a creosote-polluted site in Greece, and used by the microbe… [Read More]
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