Projects | Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

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…

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…

Alternative Technologies for In Situ Bioremediation of Radioactive Iodine: Microbial Reductive Methylation of Iodate to Iodocarbon Gas

Lead Institution

Georgia Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator

Thomas DiChristina

Project type

FICUS Research

The reductive methylation of water soluble iodate (IO3-) to volatile iodine (iodocarbon) gas forms the basis of alternative remediation technologies in iodine-contaminated subsurface environments…

Deciphering interactions hypothesized to lead to high productivity in high pH-high alkalinity phototrophically driven microbial communities

Lead Institution

Montana State University

Principal Investigator

Robin Gerlach

Project type

FICUS Research

Developing algal-based biofuels and bioproducts is one of the goals of the Department of Energy-Bioenergy Technology Office (DOE-BETO). The work proposed here focuses on an algal strain, tentatively…

Understanding genomic underpinnings of high-biomass productivity phenotypes in industrially relevant microalgae

Lead Institution

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Alex Beliaev

Project type

FICUS Research

Directed evolution and targeted trait selection remain among the most powerful and successful tools available for attaining the process improvements necessary to enable commercial success in many…

Sunlight exposure replaces the function of microbial enzymes needed to degrade DOM

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Byron Crump

Project type

FICUS Research

About half of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) released from land is converted to CO2 in inland waters (e.g., streams, rivers, lakes), driving a CO2 flux to the atmosphere roughly equal to the net…

Carbon cost of plant-microbe interactions under drought

Lead Institution

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

John Dunbar

Project type

FICUS Research

Plant survival during environmental stress is a major driver of ecosystem carbon (C) cycling, and plant-microbe interactions are central to plant stress survival. However, quantifying how much C…

Bacterial:Fungal Interactions in Soil: Developing a mechanistic understanding of nutrient exchange between soil microbes and the resulting consequences for C/N cycling

Lead Institution

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Patrick Chain

Project type

FICUS Research

Little is known about the interactions between bacteria and fungi and how they function in the cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in soils. Here we seek to characterize at the molecular level the…

Discover ectomycorrhizal fungi-triggered macro- and micronutrient reactions and movements: From cell to ecosystem function

Lead Institution

University of Florida

Principal Investigator

Hui-ling Liao

Project type

FICUS Research

As the critical members of forest microbiome, ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) play important roles in forest ecosystems. EMF provide their tree hosts with macro- and micronutrients in exchange for…

Beyond the rhizosphere: Microbial functional traits through the whole soil profile and their response to warming.

Lead Institution

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Eoin Brodie

Project type

FICUS Research

The pathways of carbon transport and loss through and from soils--soil organic matter (SOM) depolymerization to dissolved organic carbon and mineralization to carbon dioxide (CO2)--are fundamentally…