Projects

Microbial Membrane Adaptations in Response to Environmental and Engineered Perturbations: Implications on Attachment, Energetics, and Carbon Cycling in the Deep Terrestrial Subsurface

Lead Institution

University of New Hampshire

Principal Investigator

Paula Mouser

Project type

FICUS Research

The injection of fluids and proppants to fracture deep shale for energy recovery introduces microbial cells and substrates to low-permeability geological formations. Microorganisms in hydraulically…

Metabolic processes and trophic interactions in Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities

Lead Institution

Universita degli Studi della Tuscia

Principal Investigator

Laura Selbmann

Project type

FICUS Research

Cryptoendolithic communities are almost the only life-forms assuring ecosystem functionality in the Antarctic desert, among the harshest terrestrial environments and the Martian counterpart on Earth…

Nuclear cooperation, sharing of public goods and coordination of plant biomass utilization: probing functions unique to multinucleate syncytial fungi

Lead Institution

University of California, Berkeley

Principal Investigator

N. Louise Glass

Project type

FICUS Research

Filamentous fungi are essential for carbon recycling in ecosystems, in symbiotic interactions essential for plant productivity and in biotechnology as superb systems for protein production utilized…

Characterizing the molecular and metabolic regulation of drought-tolerant CAM photosynthesis

Lead Institution

University of Connecticut

Principal Investigator

Karolina Heyduk

Project type

FICUS Research

CAM photosynthesis is a water-saving modification to the more common C3 photosynthetic pathway, found in about 8% of flowering plants, including desert species like agaves and cacti. CAM species can…

Towards a systems model of circadian control of gene function to regulate metabolic phenotype and cellulase production 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…

Exploring the native cell wall nanoarchitecture of engineered bioenergy crops via multi-dimensional solid-state NMR.

Lead Institution

University of Adelaide

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Mortimer

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, an inorganic carbon source, is fixed by plants via photosynthesis to form the polysaccharides and lignin that constitute the plant cell wall. The plant cell wall,…

Selective Sensors for High Spatiotemporal Imaging of Small Molecule Targets in Metabolic Pathways of Plants and Cells involved in Bio-energy Processes

Lead Institution

University of Texas at Austin

Principal Investigator

Yi Lu

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

As a member of the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), a DOE Bioenergy Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, we aim to develop selective sensors to…

Cryo-FIB and High-Vacuum Cryo-Transfer for Atom Probe Tomography Analysis of Organic Molecular Materials

Lead Institution

Colorado School of Mines

Principal Investigator

Jeramy Zimmerman

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The morphology of mixed molecular solids impacts macroscopic properties of the material (e.g. conductivity). Our group has developed atom probe tomography (APT) analysis methods for organic small…

Identifying dynamic sources and transformations of dissolved organic matter in coastal watersheds exposed to extreme flooding

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Nicholas Ward

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The primary objective of this proposal is to improve mechanistic understanding of the hydrobiogeochemical processes governing the cycling of organic matter (OM) across the land-to-sea continuum…

High-resolution imaging of Rhodobacter sphaeroides strains with increased lipid production

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

Timothy Donohue

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Rhodobacter sphaeroides is an alpha-proteobacterium which can remodel its cell envelope under low-oxygen or anaerobic conditions, by increasing its lipid content and forming intracytoplasmic membrane…

The Diurnal Redox Proteome of Chlamydomonas

Lead Institution

Michigan State University

Principal Investigator

Daniela Strenkert

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Nearly all organisms exhibit diurnal metabolic cycles, especially phototrophs, whose metabolism is strictly dependent on light. Transcriptomics experiments in cyanobacteria, algae and plants have…

Characterizing role of particle-water in processing of biomass burning emissions and SOA formation

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

ManishKumar Shrivastava

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed by multiphase chemical reactions in the atmosphere greatly contribute to fine particulate matter and organic aerosols (OA). Despite mounting evidence, aqueous-…

Chemical Imaging and Ice Nucleation Properties of Individual Arctic Atmospheric Particles

Lead Institution

University of Michigan

Principal Investigator

Kerri Pratt

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The proposed project will address critical gaps in our understanding of the Arctic aerosol sources, chemical composition, and ice nucleation properties through chemical imaging and ice nucleation…

Tracking carbon flow through syntrophic interspecies interactions in methanogenic microbiomes

Lead Institution

University of British Columbia

Principal Investigator

Ryan Ziels

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Determining in situ metabolic processes and interactions among diverse assemblages of microorganisms remains a critical challenge in microbial ecology. Consequently, identifying novel genes and…

Environmental Photochemical Catalysis and Microphysical Properties of Fe-Organic Aerosols

Lead Institution

Purdue University

Principal Investigator

Alexander Laskin

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The intent of this collaborative research is to investigate photo-catalytic effects of atmospheric aging on the chemical composition and the microphysical properties of secondary organic aerosol (SOA…

Connecting Structure and Function in Anaerobic Fungal Cellulosomes

Lead Institution

University of California, Santa Barbara

Principal Investigator

Michelle O'Malley

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This proposal seeks use of EMSL resources to characterize the unique, multi-enzyme cellulosomes made by anaerobic gut fungi that are found within large herbivores. Cellulosomes enable anaerobic…

Uncovering the phosphoproteome of arbuscular mycorrhizal roots

Lead Institution

Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research

Principal Investigator

Maria Harrison

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

During the endosymbiotic association of plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, the fungus inhabits the root cortical cells where it delivers mineral nutrients to its plant host, and in return…

Modeling Solvent Effects in Mixed-Solvent Environments for Improved Biomass Conversion

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

Reid Van Lehn

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass is a promising method to produce biofuels and chemicals for further microbial conversion from a renewable carbon resource via liquid-phase, acid-catalyzed…

Integrated experimental and modeling study to investigate vertical profile of atmospheric particles via tethered balloon system

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Fan Mei

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

We propose a combined experimental and modeling study to characterize the vertical profile of atmospheric aerosol collected via a tethered balloon system using multi-modal micro-spectroscopy…

Probing Iron Oxide Mineral Aggregation Behavior with Soil Organic Matters

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Xin Zhang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The goal of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding of iron oxide nanoparticle (NPs) aggregation mechanisms with soil organic matters (SOM). Heteroaggregation is a ubiquitous but…