Projects

Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry, NMR and Computation to Elucidate Biomolecular Structural Features that Enable Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysis in Fuel Cells

Lead Institution

University of Texas at Austin

Principal Investigator

Yi Lu

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This proposal addresses a major under-explored area of research in our understanding of foundational principles for predictive biology central to energy production, i.e., the role of post…

Hydrologic imprinting across terrestrial-aquatic gradients: unraveling the spectrum of ecosystem responses to freshwater limitation and salt exposure

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Nicholas Ward

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The availability of freshwater exerts a direct influence on the growth and health of plants both in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (e.g., wetlands). Upland soils can experience accumulation of…

Controlling ion transport and topotactic phase transition processes in oxide thin films

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Yingge Du

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The overarching goal of this proposal is to understand, predict, and ultimately control ion transport and topotactic phase transition (TPT) processes occurring in structurally ordered transition…

The mechanism of pyrite formation: Implications for metal mobility during iron-sulfide transformations

Lead Institution

University of California, Riverside

Principal Investigator

Timothy Lyons

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Sulfidic sediments are a key sink for many potentially toxic trace elements in marine settings, with much of these elements ultimately being concentrated into the mineral pyrite. Pyrite can be an…

Geochemical controls on soil resiliency to carbon loss following permafrost thaw in Alaskan soils

Lead Institution

University of California, Davis

Principal Investigator

Rebecca Lybrand

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Global air temperature rise exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions endangers Arctic carbon previously protected by permafrost. The resiliency of soil landscapes to carbon loss will be determined by…

The Root of the Matter: Soil Carbon Mobilization in the Rhizosphere

Lead Institution

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Principal Investigator

Marco Keiluweit

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The exploratory work we propose aims to improve mechanistic understanding of links among rhizodeposition of organic compounds by plant roots, microbial growth and activity, and the strength of…

Microbe-Mineral Interactions for Rare Earth Recovery

Lead Institution

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Yongqin Jiao

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Lanthanides are composed of 15 metallic chemical elements (La-Lu). Combined with Sc and Y, they are often collectively known as the rare earth elements (REEs). Although lanthanides are ubiquitous in…

Assessing the environmental activity of ultra-small cells with deuterium oxide labeling and proteomics

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Stephen Giovannoni

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Reports of ultra-small cell and streamlined genomes have flooded into the field of microbiology, providing support for the idea that the prevalence of streamlined bacteria in nature has been…

Spatiotemporal Controls on Organic Matter Availability and Decomposition Rates across Floodplain Sediments

Lead Institution

Stanford University

Principal Investigator

Scott Fendorf

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Although depositional environments such as floodplains are key regulators of ecosystem carbon storage and downstream metal loadings, they are not very well represented in earth system models…

Unraveling the catabolism of lignin-derived compounds in white-rot fungi (part II)

Lead Institution

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Davinia Salvachua Rodriguez

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

White rot fungi (WRF) are the most efficient organisms for the depolymerization and mineralization of lignin to CO2 and H2O in Nature and thus, WRF play a pivotal role in carbon cycling. Lignin…

Integrating thermodynamic and microbial mechanisms to understand coupled controls of carbon and nitrogen on hyporheic zone metabolism

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James Stegen

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Terrestrial-aquatic interfaces are widely recognized as active zones of organic matter metabolism, and hyporheic zones in particular are critical in determining the fate of organic matter globally…

Molecular characterization of dissolved organic matter components facilitating the transport and transformation of mercury

Lead Institution

Syracuse University

Principal Investigator

Charles Driscoll

Project type

Exploratory Research

Browning of surface water has been observed across the northeastern United States and northern Europe. This trend has generally been attributed to increases in dissolved organic matter following the…

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…