Projects

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…

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…

Investigating the carbon cycling implications of changing microbial leaf litter decomposition across a permafrost thaw gradient.

Lead Institution

University of Arizona

Principal Investigator

Scott Saleska

Project type

FICUS Research

Thawing arctic permafrost (which contains 30-50% of global soil carbon) is expected to drive substantial alterations to carbon (C) cycling that will accelerate climate change. As permafrost thaws,…

Detecting Seismically-Sustained Deep Subsurface CH4-cycling Chemolithoautotrophic Microbial Communities Using Multi-Omic Analyses and NanoSIMS

Lead Institution

Princeton University

Principal Investigator

Tullis Onstott

Project type

FICUS Research

The specific objective of the proposed JGI/EMSL project is to document the microbial ecosystem of an active fault zone at 3.5 to 3.6 kilometers depth in South Africa. More specifically, the goal is…

Characterizing the ecophysiologies of uncultured syntrophic associations driving anaerobic methane oxidation: applications of targeted meta'omics and multi-modal analytical imaging of diverse archaeal-bacterial consortia

Lead Institution

California Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator

Victoria Orphan

Project type

FICUS Research

The main objective of this work is to combine the molecular, elemental and cryo-electron imaging and metaproteomics available at EMSL with the single cell genomics pipeline at the JGI in a highly…

Systems Analysis of Trophic Transitions in Chromochloris zofingiensis, an Emerging Model Green Alga with Promising Biofuel Potential

Lead Institution

University of California, Berkeley

Principal Investigator

Krishna Niyogi

Project type

FICUS Research

As a core component of a sustainable bio-economy, microalgae have the potential to become a major source of biofuels and bioproducts without exacerbating environmental problems. These photosynthetic…

Biodiversity and ice-nucleating activity of soil and marine airborne microorganisms and relationship to source material

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Susannah Burrows

Project type

FICUS Research

Understanding the nature, sources, and geographic and seasonal distribution of atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INPs), i.e., particles that promote freezing of cloud droplets, is critical to…

Towards a molecular-level understanding of terrestrial organic matter transformations by microbes in a rapidly changing Arctic Ocean

Lead Institution

Concordia University

Principal Investigator

David Walsh

Project type

FICUS Research

The fate of terrestrial organic matter in coastal seas and open oceans is not well understood. This is especially true in the Arctic Ocean, which is one of the largest depositories of terrestrial…

Revealing the Molecular Interactions in Phototroph-Heterotroph Co-Cultures for Bioenergy Through Development of an In Silico Platform for Design and Discovery

Lead Institution

Johns Hopkins University

Principal Investigator

Michael Betenbaugh

Project type

FICUS Research

Lichens are nature's solar cells, harnessing energy from sunlight and converting it along with CO2 into biochemicals. They achieve this goal through a complex web of interactions between a…

From phenotype to genotype and back again: large scale functional characterization of microbial dark matter by combining activity-based cell sorting, isotope labeling, and genomic sequencing

Lead Institution

Montana State University

Principal Investigator

Roland Hatzenpichler

Project type

FICUS Research

Two long-standing problems in microbial ecology are: (1) identifying the factors driving metabolic activity of microbes in their natural environment and (2) determining the substrates that are…

Identifying and applying design rules to engineer polyketide synthases for production of biofuels and bioproducts

Lead Institution

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jay Keasling

Project type

FICUS Research

Polyketide synthases (PKSs) produce numerous secondary metabolites in soil dwelling bacteria. For over two decades, researchers have known that portions of these enzymes can be recombined to produce…

Tracking switchgrass photosynthate via 13CO2 pulse-chase into the rhizosphere microbiome and metabolome

Lead Institution

Michigan State University

Principal Investigator

Lisa Tiemann

Project type

FICUS Research

This project aims to increase our understanding of plant-microbe interactions, specifically the exchange of plant C for microbially derived nitrogen. Plant exudates are a high energy foods for…