JGI Contributes Nine to 2022 Highly Cited Researchers List

This year’s list features 6,900 researchers working in 21 fields. 

Congratulations to the 2022 Highly Cited Researchers from the JGI recognized for their “significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade” by Clarivate Analytics.

Those from the JGI whose publications rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year are:

• Igor Grigoriev (Cross-field) 
• Marcel Huntemann (Cross-field) 
• Natalia Ivanova (Biology and Biochemistry) 
• Nikos Kyrpides (Biology and Biochemistry) 
• Dan Rokhsar (Cross-field) 
• Simon Roux (Cross-field) 
• Jeremy Schmutz (Cross-field) 
• Susannah Tringe (Microbiology) 
• Tanja Woyke (Biology and Biochemistry) 

Here’s a selection of studies these busy bees contributed to: 

Giant bacteria visible to the naked eye: Natalia Ivanova and Tanja Woyke both contributed to ground-breaking research following the discovery of bacteria 5,000 times the average size. Woyke’s Single Cells Group helped better-understand what the sulfur-oxidizing, carbon fixing bacterium was doing in the Guadeloupean mangroves where it was found. The study was featured on the New York Times 2022 List of Firsts as well as other year-end science discovery lists. 

Updates to the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea: Under the umbrella of the GEBA, the JGI is sequencing thousands of bacterial and archaeal genomes from diverse branches of the Tree of Life. 

Its latest addition — made possible in part by contributions from Ivanova, Woyke, Marcel Huntemann, Nikos Kyrpides and Simon Roux — features 600 genome sequences for Actinobacteria. 

Woyke was also one of three authors on a recent study that made the cover of Nature Reviews Microbiology, summarizing insights from three decades of work on giant viruses — providing a perspective on giant virus diversity, and how sequencing and bioinformatics have sped up the study of giant viruses. 

Kyrpides and the JGI’s IMG/M Data Portal were instrumental to a study that looked into how soil viruses, and in particular a chitosanase protein, can contribute to soil health. He also contributed to an update of the JGI’s Genome OnLine Database (GOLD) database that also marked the platform’s 25th anniversary, published in Nucleic Acids Research. 

ID’ing RNA viruses with ease: Searching for RNA sequences within a database can be like combing for the proverbial need in a haystack — until now. Scientists have recently created a computational pipeline that scans specifically for RNA virus sequences, initially using it to comb through more than 5,000 data sets and thereby increasing RNA virus diversity five-fold. 

Ivanova, Roux and Kyrpides are all authors on the study. Huntemann, Woyke, Igor Grigoriev and Susannah Tringe also contributed as part of the study’s RNA Virus Discovery Consortium. 

Grigoriev contributed to a cover article detailing how forest floors, in particular the soil microbiome, recover post-wildfire. He and Tringe were also involved in a study that applied metagenomic capabilities to studying phytoplankton microbiomes from polar and non-polar oceans.  

The reasons behind C-fern’s size and complexity revealed: C-fern is typical of most ferns in many ways, including its large genome with numerous chromosomes. This recent study, including work from Jeremy Schmutz, reveals that C-fern’s size and complexity is not due to whole-genome duplication, as was previously thought. Instead, it turns out this fern has been co-opting genes from bacteria.

Schmutz was also involved in a switchgrass study that delved into the nuances of the plant’s genome. A candidate bioenergy feedstock, switchgrass has adapted to expand its habitat range —but at what cost? 

Dan Rokshar contributed to the demystification of cassava related to recent advances in genome assemblies for the heterozygous staple crop, as well as the discussion of key cassava genomic resources. Genome annotations for cassava are available on the JGI plant portal Phytozome.