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Genomes of Tiny Microbes Yield Clues to Global Climate Change

By analyzing the genomes of several microscopic ocean-dwelling organisms sequenced at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI), scientists are gaining new insights into how the planet’s oceans affect its climate. Comparative studies of four types of cyanobacteria–“photosynthetic” microbes that derive energy from sunlight, just like plants–were published today on the websites of… [Read More]

DOE Joint Genome Institute and Diversa Corp. Announce Large-Scale Microbial Sequencing Collaboration

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and Diversa Corporation (Nasdaq: DVSA) today announced a collaboration to discover and sequence novel microbial genomes found in a diverse range of unique habitats. Under the collaboration, Diversa will use its proprietary technologies to extract DNA from environmental samples and make gene libraries, while JGI will… [Read More]

Eddy Rubin Named JGI Director

Dr. Edward M. (Eddy) Rubin, an internationally known geneticist and medical researcher, has been named Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI). Rubin was also named Director of the Genomics Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Rubin, who had been serving as Interim Director of JGI since spring 2002, was… [Read More]

Sea Squirt DNA Sheds Light on Vertebrate Evolution

WALNUT CREEK, CA — The streamlined genome of Ciona intestinalis, a common sea squirt closely related to vertebrates on the evolutionary tree, is providing new clues about the origins of key vertebrate systems and structures including the human hormone, nervous and immune systems. In an article for the December 13, 2002 edition of the journal… [Read More]

JGI to Decode DNA of Destructive Plant Pathogen

Backed by nearly $4 million in funding from three Federal agencies, researchers in California and Virginia are joining forces to learn the genetic secrets of a notorious plant pathogen that causes billions of dollars a year in damage to forests and soybean crops. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI) in… [Read More]

Researchers to Toast “Good” Bacteria

The next time you chow down on a sausage pizza, enjoy a refreshing frozen yogurt, or savor a fine wine, remember to thank the bugs. Lactic acid bacteria (bacteria that ferment sugars into lactic acid) play an essential role in the production of wine, as well as such fermented foods as cheese, yogurt, pickles, sausage… [Read More]

Joint Genome Institute to Sequence Key African Frog Genome

WALNUT CREEK, CA — In their continuing search for new clues to how human genes function and how vertebrates develop and evolve, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI) are gearing up to map the DNA of a diminutive, fast-growing African frog named Xenopus tropicalis. Frogs have long been a favorite… [Read More]

Pufferfish DNA Yields Clues to Human Biology

An international research consortium led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI) reported today on the draft sequencing, assembly, and analysis of the genome of the Japanese pufferfish Fugu rubripes. The report was released on Science Magazine’s Science Express Web site. Pufferfish have the smallest known genomes among vertebrates, the group of… [Read More]

A First Line of Defense Against Disease Organisms

WALNUT CREEK, CA — The Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI), whose Production Genomics Facility in Walnut Creek is one of the fastest and most powerful in the U.S., has been enlisted to help safeguard public safety by determining the whole genome sequences of a variety of infectious bacteria–a first step toward developing tests… [Read More]

Department of Energy Solicits Recommendations for Microbial Sequencing Targets

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking nominations of microbes and microbial communities as candidates for draft genomic sequencing in support of its Microbial Genome and the Genomes to Life Programs. Candidate microbes and microbial communities should be relevant to DOE mission needs, e.g., microbes involved in environmental processes, waste remediation, carbon management, energy… [Read More]