Microbes from Phylum Chloroflexi Provide Clues to Carbon Cycling, Respiration in Sediments The Science Through metagenomics, researchers sequenced 86 organisms from the phylum Chloroflexi that represent 15 distinct lineages in order to discover the secrets of microbial life within terrestrial aquifer sediment deposits. The Impact These Chloroflexi microbes were found to have metabolic processes involved… [Read More]
Physcomitrella Genome Expected to Provide Help with Global Climate Change The Science An international team of scientists has annotated all 32,275 genes of Physcomitrella patens, a moss sequenced by the DOE Joint Genome Institute that contains about 10,000 more genes than humans. The Impact It is widely believed that the P. patens genome contains information… [Read More]
The deconstruction of biomass is a pivotal process in the biofuel industry, but the enzymes that possess a significant role in the breakdown of biomass remain relatively unexplored. To this end, DOE researchers at several national labs and user facilities are studying thermophilic bacteria, organisms that survive and thrive in high-temperature environments, that contain these… [Read More]
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]
Microbes facilitate many of the natural cycles in plant growth and health, and play roles in many processes in nutrient cycles that control certain environments and climates. Though thousands of these microbes have been identified, the majority of these microbes are still a mystery to scientists and are referred to as microbial “dark matter.” Steps… [Read More]
Widely used as a model for plant research, Arabidopsis thaliana was the first plant to have its genome completely sequenced. However, there is still much to learn about this plant, including the function of its many DNA conserved noncoding sequences (CNSs). These regions hold key roles in activating certain traits during plant development, but why… [Read More]
The ocean’s surface or photic zone, where sufficient light enables photosynthesis, harbors vast amounts of life-sustaining microbes that attach themselves to plankton. A large portion of the carbon in the ocean is processed by these microbes, which helps sustain the abundance of diverse marine life. But these microbes can be exceedingly difficult to culture in… [Read More]
Known by the researchers who sequenced it at the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute as “The Beast”, and considered the “Flowers of the Ocean” by others, Emiliania huxleyi has proved to be a single-celled coccolithophore of many faces. The third most abundant group of phytoplankton, Ehux is the basis of most ocean food chains,… [Read More]
About 200,000 years ago, Capsella rubella began self fertilizing and split from C. grandiflora. To study the effects of selfing on C. rubella’s genome, the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute sequenced and compared it with C. grandiflora and members of the closely related Arabidopsis genus – the first plant ever sequenced and model species… [Read More]
Leaf-cutter ants are well-known examples of insects that use microbes to gain access to nutrients, farming “gardens” in which bacteria and fungi break down plant mass. In an article featured on the cover of the June 2013 issue of Applied Environmental Microbiology, a team including DOE Joint Genome Institute researchers and longtime collaborators at the Great… [Read More]