Projects

Combining high resolution organic matter characterization and microbial meta-omics to assess the effects of nutrient loading on salt marsh carbon sequestration

Lead Institution

Northeastern University

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Bowen

Project type

FICUS Research

Salt marshes sequester an order of magnitude more carbon in their sediments than their terrestrial counterparts because rates of decomposition are inhibited by anoxic, water-logged soils. Once easily…

Scaling molecular mechanisms of mycorrhizal-decomposer interactions to emergent ecosystem carbon balance

Lead Institution

Boston University

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Bhatnagar

Project type

FICUS Research

Emerging evidence from field experiments and global scale analyses suggests that ectomycorrhizal fungi may slow soil carbon (C) cycling via negative interactions with free-living microbial…

The synchronization of microbial and plant phenology in a mountainous watershed and its importance for nutrient retention under changing hydrologic regimes.

Lead Institution

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Eoin Brodie

Project type

FICUS Research

In mountainous systems that experience seasonal snow-cover, the snowmelt period is characterized by a large pulse of nutrients that originates from microbial mineralization of organic matter beneath…

Linking Proteogenomics, Metabolomics, and Soil Organic Chemistry of Tropical Wetlands to a Soil Nutrient Cycling Model

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Melanie Mayes

Project type

FICUS Research

Our goal is to explicitly link microbial function for decomposition of soil organic matter to substrate organic chemistry to improve process representation in a soil organic carbon and phosphorus (P)…

Engineering enzyme networks for biomass deconstruction in synthetic microbial communities

Lead Institution

University of British Columbia

Principal Investigator

Steven Hallam

Project type

FICUS Research

Lignocellulose, the main component of plant cell walls, is arguably the most abundant biopolymer on the planet1,2. Through biorefining, it is also a renewable input for energy and materials…

Integrated multi-omic analysis of high lipid accumulation in the oleaginous green microalgae Ostreococcus tauri to engineer metabolic pathways for improved triacylglycerol feedstocks

Lead Institution

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James Evans

Project type

Exploratory Research

Our proposed mutli-omic approach will empower a comprehensive understanding of cellular pathways linking carbon, nitrogen and phosphate metabolism in the microalga Ostreococcus tauri. The use of this…

The effect of C decomposition environment on plant detritus in soil organic matter

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

Randy Jackson

Project type

Exploratory Research

While it is established that increasing temperature and moisture increases the rate of soil C mineralization, we do not know whether these factors change the chemical quality or physical protection…

Rhizosphere processes influencing decomposition of soil organic matter and its contribution to phosphorus cycling

Lead Institution

University of Kentucky

Principal Investigator

David McNear

Project type

Exploratory Research

Using multi-technique approach, including a combination of NMR and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry at EMSL, the overall objective of this study is to determine how P availability and…

Applying multi-dimensional solid state NMR to explore the nanoarchitecture of native and engineered plant cell walls

Lead Institution

University of Adelaide

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Mortimer

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Plants fix carbon via photosynthesis, the majority of which is incorporated into cell wall polysaccharides. These polysaccharides are synthesized in different cellular compartments, but are assembled…

Towards a metabolic model of circadian clock control of metabolism in Neurospora crassa.

Lead Institution

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Hurley

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Biofuel production using cellulases extracted from fungi has the potential to be a major resource to replace fossil fuels and regulating the synthesis of these and other enzymes is crucial for the…

A systems biology approach to identifying the native function of Hg methylation proteins in Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Dwayne Elias

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Methylmercury (MeHg), an organic Hg compound, is a potent toxin that bioaccumulates in food sources and is primarily produced by microorganisms in anaerobic organic-rich soils and sediments. To date,…

Nano-scale examinations of the sequestration of metal(loid)s by organic matter and mineral surface coatings in soils

Lead Institution

University of Manitoba

Principal Investigator

Michael Schindler

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Airborne particulate matter (PM) - suspended solid particles with diameters between a few nanometers (nm) and several micrometers - has always been a constituent of the Earth's atmosphere. Man…

Investigation of chemical form effects on Zr isotopic ratios measured by atom probe tomography

Lead Institution

University of California, Berkeley

Principal Investigator

Peter Hosemann

Project type

Exploratory Research

The goal of this work is to determine the effects of hydrides and oxides on isotopic measurements obtained using atom probe tomography (APT). Zirconium enriched to 72-97% 92Zr is proposed as the…

Deciphering Lignin-forming Supramolecular Protein Complexes for Facile Biomass Deconstruction

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Norman Lewis

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Our overall aim is to further identify, dissect, and exploit dirigent protein (DP) mediated supramolecular protein complexes for macromolecular lignin assembly in order to ultimately achieve facile…

Quantum Calculations on Ion Channels, Especially Voltage Gated Channels

Lead Institution

City College of New York

Principal Investigator

Michael Green

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The properties of ion channel proteins, found in essentially all organisms, will be computed using quantum calculations. The principal techniques include optimization at Hartree-Fock level …

Molecular understanding of nutrient sorption on model mineral surfaces

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Kelsey Stoerzinger

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Iron (Fe)-containing minerals exert a significant influence on soil and sediment geochemistry, such as the cycling of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrients in the bioavailable form of dissolved…

Mechanistic Study of Sulfur Oxidizing Bacteria Using a Combined Experimental and Theoretical Approach: The Role of the SoxB Protein

Lead Institution

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Ping Yang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The goal of this proposal is to characterize the molecular mechanisms associated to the a Mn2(II,II) core of the SoxB protein. This protein plays a central role in the sulfur oxidizing catalytic…

Oceans as a source of airborne metabolites and primary biological aerosol particles

Lead Institution

State University of New York at Stony Brook

Principal Investigator

Daniel Knopf

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Ocean waters, which cover 71% of the Earth's surface, contain dissolved organic carbon (DOC) including lipids, humics and organic acids, and free macromolecules, the precursor material for the…

Organic carbon characterization in a warming coastal wetland

Lead Institution

Smithsonian Institution

Principal Investigator

James Megonigal

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Coastal wetlands are global hotspots of carbon storage, but the future carbon stock stability of coastal wetlands is uncertain as data are lacking on responses to factors such as warming and elevated…

Iron Chelator-Mediated Biotransformation of Lignin by Novel sp., Tolumonas lignolytica BRL6-1, in Anoxic Conditions

Lead Institution

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Principal Investigator

Kristen DeAngelis

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Climate change is a current crisis that requires reduced reliance on non-renewable fuels, and lignocellulose offers an abundant and undervalued renewable fuel alternative. Lignin is a strong barrier…