WALNUT CREEK, CA–Few stop to consider the consequences of their daily ablutions, the washing of clothes, the watering of lawns, and the flush of a toilet. However, wastewater treatment–one of the corner stones of modern civilization–is the largest microbially mediated biotechnology process on the planet. When it works, it is a microbial symphony in tune… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA–Researchers have now characterized the unique lifestyle of a gutless worm that commutes through marine sediments powered by a community of symbiotic microbial specialists harbored just under its skin, obviating the need for digestive and excretory systems. From a species of marine oligochaete worm isolated off of the coast of Elba, the Mediterranean… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA–Bioenergy crop plants switchgrass and cassava, other important agricultural commodities such as cotton, and microbes geared to break down plant material to render biofuels, round out the roster of more than 40 projects to be tackled by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) over the next year. Drawing submissions… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA–Version 1.5 of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) data management system of the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has been released to the public. IMG 1.5 now contains a total of 741 genomes (435 bacterial, 32 archaeal, 15 eukaryotic genomes and 259 bacterial phages) of which 602 are finished… [Read More]

ORLANDO, Florida — Microbes, thriving in even the world’s most extreme environments, are capable of performing myriad biological functions, learned over the billions of years they have inhabited the planet. Those lessons, and how they can be captured to render clean renewable sources of energy and to repair damaged environments, are among the many secrets… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA–The DOE Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) every year reveals the wonders of DNA sequencing to thousands of avid students, teachers, researchers, and community members drawn through the portal of its Walnut Creek, Calif., Production Genomics Facility. Visitors often ask the question: what becomes of those billions of letters of genetic information churning… [Read More]

WALNUT CREEK, CA–To tackle the computational challenges of analyzing the complex world of microbial communities, the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has released to the worldwide research community IMG/M, an experimental metagenome data management and analysis system. IMG/M integrates aggregate genome (also known as metagenome) data from diverse environmental microbial communities… [Read More]