Projects

Nitrogen fixation in Populus: Identification and localization of the key diazotrophs in planta

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Sharon Doty

Project type

FICUS Research

Poplar (Populus) trees are an early successional pioneer plant species able to colonize nutrient-limited, cobble-dominated riparian zones. Native poplar has a diverse microbiota including strains…

Fluorescence-based cell sorting and targeted proteomic analysis of active methane-oxidizing syntrophic consortia from environmental samples

Lead Institution

California Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator

Victoria Orphan

Project type

FICUS Research

Determining the links between phylogenetically identified microorganisms with their metabolic activity and function in complex natural ecosystems has been a long-standing challenge in microbial…

Building the phage-host-environment interaction data to scale from genes-to-ecosystems: Towards predictive modeling of wild microbial and viral community dynamics

Lead Institution

University of Michigan

Principal Investigator

Melissa Duhaime

Project type

FICUS Research

Ocean microbes and viruses are now at the forefront of Earth System studies. The enormous numbers of ocean viruses (typically >10^5 ml-1, usually ten for every microbial cell) are driving…

Specialized Ribosomes: A New Frontier in Gene Regulation

Lead Institution

Texas A&M University

Principal Investigator

Deborah Bell-Pedersen

Project type

FICUS Research

A longstanding view in molecular biology is that all the ribosomes in a cell function identically. Our recent preliminary data, and those of others, challenge this dogma, and instead support the…

A Rhizosphere-Scale Investigation of the Relationship Between Plant Productivity and Methane Emissions from Wetlands

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Rebecca Neumann

Project type

FICUS Research

The proposed project will advance understanding of the response of methane production and methane oxidation to changes in plant productivity so that modeled representations of these processes and…

Integrated Omics Analyses of a Populus Pedigree for Crop Improvement

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Chongle Pan

Project type

FICUS Research

Populus is a DOE flagship plant for biofuel biomass production. Improving Populus as a feedstock crop is a major focus of DOE Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs) and many academic laboratories. Here,…

Genomes to dynamic decay communities: Understanding fungal interactions during early decomposition events in natural lignocellulosic substrate

Lead Institution

Swansea University

Principal Investigator

Dan Eastwood

Project type

FICUS Research

Understanding the microbial decomposition of lignocellulose and its contribution to global carbon cycling requires realistic model systems that go beyond in silico and single culture analyses. Fungal…

3D Reality Check: Developing Structural Support for Predicting Microbial Function and Interpreting Microbial "Omics" Data

Lead Institution

Marine Biological Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Zoe Cardon

Project type

FICUS Research

Microbial activities on which humanity and ecosystems depend, and which influence climate and support biofuel production, are determined both by microbial community membership and by the resources…

Understanding and Harnessing the Robustness of Undomesticated Yarrowia lipolytica Strains for Biosynthesis of Designer Bioesters

Lead Institution

University of Tennessee

Principal Investigator

Cong Trinh

Project type

FICUS Research

The goal of this proposed research is to elucidate and harness the exceptional robustness of the novel, undomesticated Yarrowia lipolytica isolates from genetic diversity screening as a bioenergy…

Deciphering the Structure & Function of Secondary Metabolites from Anaerobic Fungi

Lead Institution

University of California, Santa Barbara

Principal Investigator

Michelle O'Malley

Project type

FICUS Research

We recently uncovered the biosynthetic machinery to produce a wide array of secondary metabolites within the genomes of the anaerobic fungal phylum Neocallimastigomycota. These fungi live among…

Linking phosphorus and carbon in rhizosphere nutrient cycling

Lead Institution

Michigan State University

Principal Investigator

James Moran

Project type

FICUS Research

Plant root exudates provide a significant carbon (C) source for rhizosphere microbial communities. In return, these communities help mobilize nutrients needed for plant growth. For instance,…

Epigenetic regulation of anaerobic fungi for increased lignocellulose degradation

Lead Institution

University of Delaware

Principal Investigator

Kevin Solomon

Project type

FICUS Research

This project studies the impact of epigenetic regulation in anaerobic fungi to develop strategies that control lignocellulolytic enzyme expression and activity for increased lignocellulose breakdown…

Interactive mechanisms of mineral dissolution by a microbial consortia

Lead Institution

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Principal Investigator

Yeala Shaked

Project type

FICUS Research

Essential metabolic functions within ecosystems are often partitioned among various members of microbial communities that each benefit the whole population. For example, nitrogen fixation is carried…

Plant litter degradation and microbial defense by host-specific fungal endophytes

Lead Institution

University of California, Santa Barbara

Principal Investigator

Ryoko Oono

Project type

FICUS Research

Decomposition of leaf litter by a diverse microbial community is a major biogeochemical process in the global carbon cycle. Fungi are considered the primary decomposers of plant litter, especially of…

Probing Microbial Interactions and Coordinated Trophic Responses in Biological Soil Crusts

Lead Institution

University of Mississippi

Principal Investigator

Erik Hom

Project type

FICUS Research

Arid and semiarid lands comprise about 40% of the global land surface, and yet they are among the least understood ecosystems. Cryptogamic or biological soil crusts (BSC) are the dominant ground…

Experimental Impacts of Climate Warming and Ocean Acidification on Metabolic Function and Blue Carbon Accumulation by Eelgrass

Lead Institution

Old Dominion University

Principal Investigator

Richard Zimmerman

Project type

FICUS Research

The goal of this study is to elucidate physiological and genetic responses of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) populations to the combined effects of ocean acidification and climate warming in order to…

Microbial metabolic activity and biogeochemical reaction networks in redox cycled alluvial systems

Lead Institution

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Principal Investigator

Kristin Boye

Project type

FICUS Research

Redox conditions and related switches in microbial metabolic activities exert primary control over the stability of carbon, nutrient, and contaminant stocks in alluvial systems, such as floodplains…

Validation of metabolic models, extrapolated from the reference sugar catabolism genetic network of Aspergillus niger by using an orthology-based approach, of evolutionarily diverse fungi

Lead Institution

Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute

Principal Investigator

Ronald de Vries

Project type

FICUS Research

Sugar conversion through central carbon catabolism in filamentous fungi is a complex process that involves many pathways, some with shared and/or redundant components. During growth on plant biomass,…

Hydrobiogeochemical feedbacks across seasonal and decadal time-scales: implications for solute fate and transport in riverbed ecosystems

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

FICUS Research

Upland rivers host exceptionally strong linkages between the terrestrial and aquatic elemental cycles. Due to their abundance and tight connections with terrestrial ecosystems from which they receive…

Consequences of plant genetic variation and the surrounding microbiome on Sphagnum associated nitrogen fixation

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

David Weston

Project type

FICUS Research

We propose a collaborative project with JGI and EMSL to determine how Sphagnum peatmoss and microbial genetic variation interact to influence community function at elevated temperatures. As part of a…