Methylobacteriaare vital for processing single-carbon compounds like methanol, methylamine, and the greenhouse gas methane. They play a central role in the carbon and nitrogen cycle. While many researchers are studying the bacteria, their full functionality is still unknown– but it’s becoming more complete, thanks to a recent publication of six genomes of different strains of…
Drifting Poplar Populations Inform Breeding Strategies
Since the publication of the genome sequence of the first tree, the black cottonwood or poplar Populustrichocarpain 2006 by the DOE Joint Genome Institute, a growing community of researchers have been engaged in advancing the development of poplar as a candidatefeedstockfornext-generationbiofuelsowing to the tree’s compact genome, rapid growth and life cycle. One area of study…
Rethinking Rhodanobacter
Denitrification, or breaking down nitrates in soil, is important. It removes the chemicals from potentially contaminating groundwater, but it can also release nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Scientists discovered that many species of the low-pH dwelling bacteria in the Rhodanobactergenus are capable of denitrification. This is on the heels of the discovery…
Prototypical genomic study of Plant-Microbe Interaction
Instead of using dangerous and toxic pesticides or expensive fertilizers, farmers may one day use microbes to fully manage diseases in soil. Already the microbial community in and surrounding plant roots fights pests and manages carbon and other soil nutrients, ultimately contributing to plant health and growth. What’s more, they aid plants in sequestering pollutants….
Arabidopsis root microbiome project: release from University of Queensland
Led by the University of North Carolina and the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, the research studied the microbiome in soil around the roots of more than 600 Arabidopsis thaliana plants. The team, which included The University of Queensland Professor Philip Hugenholtz, investigated how the microbiome helps shuttle nutrients and information into and out…
Arabidopsis root microbiome project in GenomeWeb Daily News
“In the same way that microbes play critical roles in and around our own bodies, we are adopting this concept of host-associated metagenomics in plant genomics as well, as it will ultimately lead to predictive interventions that will increase plant health and productivity, disease resistance, and carbon capture,” co-author Susannah Tringe, who heads the metagenome…
Getting to the Root— Unearthing the Plant-Microbe Quid Pro Quo
While the flower may attract the bee and the admiring eye of the passerby, it is the unseen complex network of life below ground where the action is. The microbial community or microbiome that inhabits the rhizosphere and endosphere —the niches immediately surrounding and inside a plant’s root—facilitates the shuttling of nutrients and information into…
Soybeans Annotated, Revisited
Revisiting the importance of studying the microbes in termite guts
According to Leadbetter, the termite holds the key to unlocking all of this potential. But understanding how to do it won’t be easy.People have enlisted the help of microbes before, but never with this degree of complexity. “For 6,000 years,” he said, “we’ve been making beer, wine and bread using yeast,” which is a single-cell…
Understanding a Cereal Disease with DNA Sequencing
An international coalition of researchers, including those from the DOE Joint Genome Institute have now isolated the Barley stripe mosaic virus resistance gene from Brachypodium distachyon. They found the single dominant gene responsible by analyzing the offspring of intercrossed disease-resistant and disease-susceptible Brachypodium. Their results were published in June in PLoSOne. Brachypodium distachyonis a good…